Rody on next PNP chief: No stumbling again
Palace backs PNP lifestyle checks
DAVAO CITY – President Duterte does not want any stumbling anew in his choice of who will lead the 160,000-strong Philippine National Police after PNP chief Gen. Oscar Albayalde reaches compulsory retirement on Nov. 8.
Duterte said this time he would be very careful in scouting for a new PNP chief.
“Maya-maya madapa na naman tapos ako ang magkaroon ng problema (There might be stumbling again and I will be the one with a problem),” Duterte said upon arrival from Russia late Sunday afternoon at the Davao International Airport.
It was not clear if he meant he had “stumbled” in picking Albayalde for the top PNP post. Albayalde is retiring amid controversy over his alleged involvement with “ninja cops” or policemen who recycle and sell illegal drugs confiscated during police anti-narcotics operations.
Malacañang had earlier said Duterte still had trust and confidence in Albayalde. But the President had ordered Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año to investigate the ninja cops case.
Duterte said he wants solid evidence that Albayalde is not involved in the ninja cops case.
The President said he will consult everybody on the matter as he does not want his choice for new PNP chief to have problems in the future.
“Not yet. Yan ang mahirap. We have to – they call it vet. I have to consult everybody,” the President said.
Sen. Christopher Go earlier said the President is expected to name his choice of the next PNP chief before the end of the month.
Duterte said he has not chosen anyone yet as he has to be careful with the one he would pick.
Several names have been floated to replace Albayalde but the President said he does not have anyone in mind yet.
Among those reported to be possible sucand cessors of Albayalde are his “mistahs” or classmates at the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Sinagtala Class of 1986 – PNP deputy chief for operations Lt. Gen. Archie Gamboa and chief directorial staff Lt. Gen. Camilo Cascolan.
Metro Manila police director Maj. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, a member of the PMA Hinirang Class of 1987, is also reportedly being considered.
Another contender is PNP Firearms and Explosives Office (FEO) director Brig. Gen. Valeriano de Leon.
Lifestyle check
Malacañang yesterday expressed support for the conduct of lifestyle check for police officials following the ninja cops controversy that critics said could tarnish the credibility of the administration’s war on illegal drugs. “That’s a very good idea.
There should be lifestyle check internally among PNP, and for that matter all heads of departments should conduct that on their own,” presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said at a press briefing. “It will help because if you can see that there are people there who are not supposed to be having this kind of wealth, then there’s really a problem,” he added.
He said a lifestyle check would not affect the administration’s crackdown on illegal drugs, the centerpiece policy of the Duterte administration. While Duterte clarified that no generals were involved in the narcotics trade, his next move would still depend on the findings of the probe to be conducted by the interior department, Panelo said. “You know, my statement was very clear.
I said, ‘unless the President says otherwise, the reasonable presumption is that he enjoys the confidence of the President.’ And that is what the President said yesterday when he was asked about whether he still has the confidence of the PNP chief.
He said that he is still there, which is obvious, if you are still there, that means I still trust you,” he told ABSCBN News Channel. Asked if Albayalde is already off the hook, Panelo replied: “I think we will have to wait for the recommendation of the DILG (Department of the Interior and Local Government) secretary, as he said yesterday.”
DOJ probe
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra yesterday formed a three-man special panel of prosecutors to handle the reinvestigation of the 13 alleged “ninja cops” who allegedly took and sold 160 kilograms of shabu worth P650 million during a drug raid in Pampanga in 2013.
Guevarra said the department’s special panel members include Senior Associate State Prosecutor Alexander Suarez and Assistant State Prosecutors Josie Christina Dugay and Gino Paulo Santiago.
DOJ Undersecretary Markk Perete said Guevarra created the panel to reinvestigate the complaint filed by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) against the so-called ninja cops. The panel was given 30 days to complete the reinvestigation.
“If warranted by the evidence, the special panel of prosecutors is further directed to file the corresponding information before the appropriate court,” Guevarra said.
He earlier assured the people that the panel would be fair in the reinvestigation of the Pampanga raid and that all parties would be given the opportunity to present their side.
The reinvestigation would focus on their alleged violation of Republic Act 9165, particularly on Sections 27 (misappropriation), 29 (planting) and 32 (custody and disposition) that were dismissed in 2017. Dismissed drug complaints filed before the DOJ are subjected to automatic review.
In 2013, Police Maj. Rodney Baloyo his men allegedly seized around 200 kilos of shabu, cash and vehicles from a suspected Chinese drug trafficker during a raid in Mexico, Pampanga on Nov. 29. 2013.
The 13 policemen were supposed to have been relieved because of grave misconduct, but then PNP Central Luzon director Maj. Gen. Amador Corpus instead ordered their demotion and did not uphold their dismissal order in 2014.
Albayalde was dragged into the controversy after former CIDG chief and now Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong mentioned his name in a closed-door meeting with senators in the course of narrating what he knows about the ninja cops when he investigated the Pampanga raid.
Albayalde was then Pampanga police director who was relieved due to command responsibility.
The internal probe found out that Baloyo declared only 38 kilos of the methamphetamine hydrochloride, vehicles and cash and let the suspect, identified as Johnson Lee, escape in exchange for P50 million.
The raiding team, it was found out later, presented to the media another Chinese national, arrested in Clark the same day, as the suspect.
Evidence
Sen. Richard Gordon said yesterday that the Office of the Ombudsman is free to use as evidence the witnesses’ testimonies as well as the report to be released by the Senate Blue Ribbon committee on its inquiry into the ninja cops.
Gordon, who chairs the panel, said there is enough information that came out of the investigation that can be used by the ombudsman to file charges against the police officers who allegedly pilfer and sell drugs seized from drug traffickers during raids.
“I think it’s a very good investigation. Everything is under oath, I think the ombudsman should be taking note of these testimonies so they can file cases against those who should be charged,” the senator said.
While there remains no evidence to link Albayalde to the actions of his men, Gordon said he is not yet ready to clear the PNP chief.
He said the committee will hold another hearing on the matter to continue the questioning on Albayalde, who he said has left “a lot of questions unanswered.”
“I think we have enough information on him (Albayalde) to make a decision (in the committee report), but again, I want General Albayalde to come forward to answer questions. We’re not going to make conclusions just like that,” he said.
He said the PNP chief has not explained and justified clearly his actions after the raid, including the phone call he made to then PNP chief for Region 3 Aaron Aquino sometime in 2016 asking about the status of the case of his men, while asking that the dismissal proceedings against them be stopped.