MANILA, Philippines – It’s going to be a huge change for Senior Superintendent Albert Ferro, former chief of the now-dissolved police Anti-Illegal Drugs Group (AIDG), when he takes on his new role as deputy chief of the Firearms and Explosives Office (FEO). 

Philippine National Police chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa made the announcement on Wednesday, February 1, a few days after President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the disbandment of all AIDG units in the country.

Ferro, who was appointed AIDG chief in July 2016, confirmed as much in a text message to Rappler. 

On Monday, January 30, Dela Rosa announced that the PNP would be pulling out from the war on drugs. (READ: Dela Rosa orders PNP: Stop war on drugs)

The order came after it was revealed that several AIDG police supposedly kidnapped South Korean businessman Jee Ick Joo from his home in Angeles City. He was later killed inside Camp Crame, just outside the AIDG office. 

During the operation involving Jee, Ferro was in Abu Dhabi to facilitate the arrest of alleged Eastern Visayas drug lord Kerwin Espinosa. 

The AIDG is the elite unit of the Philippine National Police that handles all narcotics investigations and operations, in coordination with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).

In waging Duterte’s drug war, the AIDG focused mostly on “high-value targets” like suspected drug lords.

Prior to heading the AIDG, Ferro was provincial police chief of Compostella Valley. He also once headed the Major Crimes Investigation Unit of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG).

The FEO, meanwhile, handles and controls the firearms trade in the country. The office issues permits to sell, own, carry, and posses firearms, among other things. 

Senior Superintendent Chiquito Malayo recently vacated the deputy FEO chief post after he was tasked to head the “Counter Intelligence Task Force,” the PNP’s latest move to rid its ranks of scalawags.

Ironically, Malayo and his task force will soon occupy the headquarters Ferro and the AIDG once called home. 

Speaking before AIDG personnel in Camp Crame, Dela Rosa assured them that they would be given new assignments. He also reminded the police not to drop their pending cases. – Rappler.com