PNP chief warns of insubordination charges vs cops badmouthing him

PNP Chief Director General Oscar Albayalde. INQUIRER.net / JHOANNA BALLARAN

Policemen badmouthing Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Dir. Gen. Oscar D. Albayalde online may soon be slapped with insubordination charges for questioning his capacity to lead the 190,000-strong police force.

Albayalde on Monday said he had already ordered the Directorate for Information and Communication Technology Management (DICTM) to identify policemen who have spoken ill of him on Facebook page, Buhay Lespu (Life of a Policeman).

“So makita mo ang attitude ng pulis natin, ‘yun ang mga pasaway. Kaya sabi ko sa (You will see there the attitude of our policemen, they are misbehaving. That’s why I told the) DICTM I want them to be identified and make them report in my office personally,” Albayalde said in a press briefing at Camp Crame in Quezon City.

“How can they say that to a senior officer at that? See the attitude of our policemen, makakapagsabi ka ng ganyan sa isang commander mo, sa isang senior officer (you can tell that to your commander, to a senior officer)? What kind of attitude do you have kung ganon?” he added.

Albayalde said if they have problems with him, they can always go to the grievance committee and have their issues be well noted or approach him directly.

He said that his move is not an infringement on freedom of expression, noting that they are all in the uniformed service and should strictly observe the government and the PNP’s rules and regulations.

“That (badmouthing) is tantamount to insubordination. And I’m not taking it against them, sabi ko nga wala akong problema kung may galit sa akin (I have no problems if they’re against me),” he said.

“Not ‘yung patago, not ‘yung paganon na ginaganon mo yung mga officers mo (But not like that, silently badmouthing your officers). You are in an organization, you have to respect your organization,” he added.

Albayalde said he wanted to instill a culture of discipline and change in attitude among the police ranks to improve their service to the public. /je