New PNP chief to obey SC, intensify ‘Tokhang’

NCRPO chief Dir. Oscar Albayalde during a press briefing at Camp Crame in Quezon City. INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO / Noy Morcoso

Expect a more “intensified” antidrug campaign under the incoming Philippine National Police chief, Director Oscar Albayalde, who said he would continue the flagship “Oplan Double Barrel” and “Oplan Tokhang” operations started by his predecessor, Director General Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa.

In a phone interview with the Inquirer on Friday, Albayalde said he expected a “continuity of programs … seen to be effective” under Dela Rosa’s term, and even hopes to “intensify” them.

But he cannot guarantee a bloodless antidrug campaign, Albayalde said, because some drug suspects continue to resist arrest and fight back.

The newly appointed PNP chief also said the police would fully cooperate with all investigations of the killings linked to the Duterte administration’s war on drugs, including those being conducted by the Commission on Human Rights and the PNP’s Internal Affairs Service (IAS), as well as comply with the Supreme Court order for the PNP to submit all its case files on Tokhang operations.

“We will continue with the investigations.  All police operations will be investigated by our IAS, and of course the Commission on Human Rights. We will cooperate fully with the investigations initiated by other government agencies,” Albayalde said in a video conference with reporters at Camp Crame.

The PNP would be complying with the high court’s order as soon as all documents have been prepared by the concerned police units, he added.

An “internal cleansing” would be one of his priority programs as PNP chief and that he would hold ground commanders down to the community precinct level responsible for instilling discipline and accountability in the ranks, he added.

“They will be made responsible for the deeds or misdeeds … of all their subordinates and office staff,” said the incoming head of the country’s 190,000-strong police force.

‘Very strict’

President Duterte on Thursday described Albayalde, chief of the National Capital Region Police Office, as “very strict,” but added that “the stricter, the better.”

“With [Albayalde’s] leadership, we are confident that we can all deliver President Duterte’s promise to eradicate illegal drugs, criminality and corruption,” Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) officer in charge Eduardo Año said on Friday.

In a statement to reporters on Friday, Albayalde thanked Mr. Duterte for his appointment and vowed not to “betray (his) trust and confidence.”

Addressing the President, Albayalde said:  “Under my watch, the PNP will work side by side with you to help fulfill your promise of genuine change for the Filipino people, and of a more disciplined and better police force.”

Albayalde also expressed his gratitude to Dela Rosa, his “mistah” or classmate at the Philippine Military Academy 1986 “Sinagtala” class, who had recommended him to the top PNP post.

Malacañang said Albayalde was set to take his oath as PNP chief on April 18.

Fake news

According to NCRPO data, the crime rate in Metro Manila last year dropped by nearly 18 percent under Albayalde’s watch. This was a result, he said, of the government’s war on drugs.

Drug suspects were often the same perpetrators of other crimes since they need to fund their illegal dealings, he then explained.

Critics, however, accused the NCRPO of “peddling fake news,” saying the rosy numbers had failed to include thousands of extrajudicial killings.

“What’s for sure is that ‘Oplan Tokhang’ and ‘Oplan Double Barrel’ have contributed significantly to the increase in unsolved murders,” ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio said.

“There is really no one who dies during Tokhang,” Albayalde countered, adding that NCRPO officers who carry out antidrug operations would now be unarmed.

Several senators hailed Albayalde’s appointment to the PNP, with Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III describing him as a “good choice” who had a “clean record.”

Sen. JV Ejercito said the PNP needed an “honest to goodness disciplinarian like General Albayalde,” while Sen. Win Gatchalian urged the new PNP chief to use this style of leadership “to instill greater discipline in the police force and eliminate scalawags through a rigorous internal cleansing program.”  —WITH REPORTS FROM JODEE A. AGONCILLO, MATTHEW REYSIO-CRUZ, CHRISTINE O. AVENDAÑO AND INQUIRER RESEARCH