Albayalde maintains: No quota system in drug war when I was PNP chief
MANILA, Philippines—Retired police Gen. Oscar Albayalde said on Tuesday that there was no direct or indirect instruction for the Philippine National Police (PNP) to have a quota system in terms of drug war accomplishments during his time leading the organization.
During the House of Representatives committee on human rights hearing on the alleged extrajudicial killings within the past administration’s drug war, Albayalde was asked by the committee chairperson and Manila 6th District Rep. Bienvenido Abante whether there was indeed a quota system in the PNP.
Abante’s question came after journalist Manny Mogato said another retired police general cited reports from 17 active police officers who said a quota system — where officers’ drug war apprehensions are tallied — was enforced when former President Rodrigo Duterte was in office.
“Gusto ko lang malaman (I just want to know) if the former director general Albayalde knows about the reward system in the Philippine National Police,” Abante said.
“Sorry Mr. Chairman, wala po akong idea do’n, I have no idea on that,” Albayalde, Duterte’s second PNP chief, replied.
When Abante pressed him further, Albayalde said that he did not get any instruction for such a practice when he was head of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) and eventually, PNP chief.
“Yes, in fairness Mr. Chairman, wala po kaming nakuhang quota when we were the commander, wala po kaming nakuhang instruction specifically whether it’s informal or formal instruction wala pong gano’n Mr. Chairman,” he added.
(Yes, in fairness, Mr. Chairman, we did not have a quota when we were the commander, and we did not receive any instruction specifically, whether it’s informal or formal. There was none, Mr. Chairman.)
The drug war, under Oplan Tokhang, was a project of Duterte’s close ally and first PNP chief, Senator Ronald dela Rosa. Tokhang was a portmanteau of Visayan words ‘toktok’ or to knock, and ‘hangyo’ or to plead — describing the police officers knocking on alleged illegal drug users and pushers’ doors to ask them to stop their involvement in the illegal trade.
When dela Rosa was PNP chief, Albayalde headed the NCRPO, where many believe the drug war was focused on — particularly urban poor communities in Caloocan, Malabon, Valenzuela, and Quezon City.
While many praised the drug war for addressing the country’s drug menace, it was also criticized for being too bloody, and with innocent civilians — including minors — being dragged into the killing incidents.
In August 2017, 17-year-old Kian delos Santos was killed despite not being the original target of the anti-drug operation in Caloocan City. He was shot point-blank even if camera footage showed him pleading for his life.
READ: 3 policemen guilty of killing Kian delos Santos — court
Two days before delos Santos was killed, the bodies of Carl Angelo Arnaiz, 19, and Kulot de Guzman, 14, were found in different areas – Arnaiz at a funeral in Caloocan City, and de Guzman, in a creek in Nueva Ecija.
Similar cases were used as a basis for the filing of complaints against Duterte and other drug war implementers before the International Criminal Court.
READ: Caloocan cop found guilty for ‘drug war’ deaths of two teens
Police officers have admitted to the existence of a quota system, and this is not new. In August 2023, no less than former police colonel and now 1-Rider party-list Rep. Bonifacio Bosita claimed that there was a quota system inside the PNP, where officers are required to comply with a minimum number of drug busts per week.
Bosita — also a member of the committee on human rights — said during the House committee on public order and safety’s hearing on the irregular anti-drug operations in Antipolo City that the quota system may have driven cops to resort to harsher measures in arresting suspected drug dealers.
He also relayed an instance where he was relieved from his post because he appealed to the relatives of those allegedly involved in the drug trade to surrender.
According to Bosita, their superiors would ask for accomplishments every Monday, where they were pressured to meet a quota. The incumbent lawmaker did not divulge a figure for the quota, but he explained that he was sacked from his post because 20 of the 21 drug personalities in his jurisdiction surrendered.
READ: Bosita bares ‘quota system’ in PNP forces cops to make illegal arrests
