Napolcom mulls exclusion of PNP chief

MANILA, Philippines — The National Police Commission (Napolcom) on Wednesday bared that it is considering the exclusion of the Philippine National Police (PNP) chief as an ex-officio member of the commission to disassociate the police force from any of its investigations.

Napolcom Vice Chairman Rogelio Casurao said this after Interior Secretary Eduardo Año revealed on Monday that there would be no administrative charges filed against former PNP chief Gen. Oscar Albayalde on the alleged drug recycling case in Pampanga in 2013 when he was the provincial police chief.

“That is one of the considerations that was in our mind. In fact, that led us more to believe that this is one of the reforms that we should have to introduce, about the PNP  chief being part of the commission,” Casurao said in an interview on ABS-CBN News Channel.

“This is one of the reforms that we would like to introduce to disassociate the PNP from being part of the investigation that ultimately investigates policemen,”  he pointed out.

When he was still PNP chief, Albayalde sat in the commission that supervises the police force, along with four other commissioners and the interior secretary, who serves as chairman of the Napolcom.

Casurao said the Napolcom mulls making the PNP Internal Affairs Service (IAS), which investigates cases of alleged errant police personnel, and the Intelligence Group members of the commission.

IAS also earlier said it wants to break away from the PNP, saying that in other countries, its counterparts are feared by rogue policemen since the probing body is independent of the police organization. /gsg