Magalong: ‘Hopefully’ any one of 13 Pampanga cops will ‘come out’ and ‘tell everything’
MANILA, Philippines – Former Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) chief Benjamin Magalong Jr. has urged the 13 police officers formerly assigned in Pampanga to spill the beans on the controversial anti-drug operation in Mexico town in November 2013.
Speaking to reporters, Magalong, now Baguio City Mayor, said the Senate investigation on Thursday validated the investigation of the CIDG on the illegal buy-bust operation that took place in Pampanga when Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Oscar Albayalde was then its provincial director.
“Hopefully, one of them or some of them kapag nakita nang alanganin na sila (when they see they are already in a risky situation) will come out in the open and tell everything [about] what really happened. Hopefully lang (I just hope),” he said.
He pointed out that violations in the operation – which he said was full of “red flags” – were “glaring.”
He added that what retired Brig. Gen. Manuel Gaerlan, then Deputy Regional Director for Operations of the Central Luzon police, did regarding the case was not really an investigation as it was merely an “intelligence inquiry.”
“It was just an intelligence inquiry para malaman lang niya what happened behind the incident,” said Magalong. “It was not an investigation. ‘Yung sa amin (CIDG), it was an investigation, and nakita niyo siguro na marami pang dapat nating malaman.”
(It was just an intelligence inquiry to know what happened behind the incident… It was not an investigation. Ours (CIDG) was an investigation, and maybe you saw that there are still a lot of things we should know.)
“Hopefully, itong si Baloyo ay magsalita (Hopefully, Baloyo will talk),” added Magalong, referring to Col. Rodney Raymundo Louie Baloyo, who led the 2013 drug sting in Mexico, Pampanga, and was among those charged with grave misconduct. He was demoted by one rank in 2017.
Asked if he thinks Albayalde should resign as PNP chief in the wake of the controversy, the former CIDG chief said: “Nasa kanya. Alam naman niya kung anong nangyari doon (It’s up to him. He knows what happened there).” /kga
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