MANILA, Feb. 29 -- The ruling of a Navotas court convicting five of six dismissed police officers implicated in the death of 17-year-old Jerhome Jemboy Baltazar highlights stringent efforts to rid the police ranks of misfits and scalawags, the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) said Thursday.

The Navotas City Regional Trial Court on Tuesday convicted a policeman for homicide and four others for illegal discharge of firearms in connection with the killing of Baltazar last year.

The Department of Justice earlier charged six policemen with murder for the death of Salazar, who was killed in an alleged case of mistaken identity during a police operation in Navotas City in August 2023.

In a phone interview, NCRPO chief Maj. Gen. J...