Albayalde slams axed Caloocan Police chief’s reason for unsolved shootings

National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) Director Oscar Albayalde on Tuesday dismissed as “unacceptable” the reason given by former Caloocan City Police chief, Senior Supt. Jemar Modequillo that the unsolved shooting incidents in the city was partly due to the city’s mostly rookie police force.

Modequillo was fired by Albayalde for failing to solve over half of the shooting incidents that resulted in deaths or injuries during his watch.

But Modequillo said Caloocan’s situation cannot be compared to that of other cities.

“You cannot compare Caloocan City to other cities. [The others] are already manned by police who have been there 10, 20 years—compared to the one month, two months of the people here,” Modequillo reportedly said.

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Albayalde however was quick to dismiss Modequillo’s line of reasoning.

“Hindi pwedeng i-reason yan. I cannot accept that reason. Kung kahapon lang sila (na-assign sa Caloocan) pwede pa,” he said.

Albayalde added that more than a hundred Caloocan police officers who were relieved last year, have already been assigned back to the station after they were cleared of any wrongdoings.

Modequillo took charge of Caloocan’s 1,200-strong police force in September last year after Senior Supt. Chito Bersaluna was also relieved following the death of 17-year-old Kian Loyd delos Santos in an anti-illegal drugs operations.

“It does not follow na pag ikaw ay bago sa lugar ay hindi mo alam yung lugar na yun. Kailan pa ba nangyari yung pag-relieve natin sa mga pulis dun? Last year pa yun. You think dun sa six o five months hindi ka pa nakapag-establish ng connection mo run?” Albayalde said in a media briefing.

“Kung hindi kayo nakapag-establish ng connection at that length of time, ibig sabhin wala silang ginagawa,” he added.
Albayalde even compared Modequillo’s team to policemen being assigned to fight rebels in far-flung areas, with most of them delivering positive results.

“Eh yun ngang pulis na dadalhin mo sa bundok, walang kaalam-alam dun nagdedeliver, yun pa kayang pulis na nasa territory nila,” he said.

“Remember, saan ba sila galing? Hindi naman sila galing sa Mindanao eh. Galing din sila sa NCRPO,” he added.
Albayalde also pointed out that there are advantages and disadvantages to being assigned in a particular police station for a long time.

“Kung minsan kapag sobrang tagal mo na sa estasyon kaibigan mo na lahat pati yung gumagawa ng kalokohan kung minsan,” he said.                      /muf

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