Albayalde says riding his motorcycle on patrols was no stunt
Recently-appointed Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Director General Oscar Albayalde has denied accusations that his previous surprise inspections of police precincts in Metro Manila aboard a motorcycle was merely a stunt to gain President Rodrigo Duterte’s nod.
“Hindi ko po ginawa ‘yon para ako’y maging Chief PNP, ginawa ko ‘yon kasi we have received several complaints already,” Albayalde said Wednesday at the weekly Kapihan sa Manila Bay.
“Patuloy-tuloy ‘yong mga complaints na ‘yon, may mga pulis dyan na nakikitang tutulog-tulog, may mga pulis na walang helmet habang naka-uniform, may mga umiinom at walang ginawa kung hindi mag-text,” he added.
Albayalde inspected several police stations last February, when he was still chief of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO).
In those visits, Albayalde caught officers as they slept and one officer was even caught in a drinking session inside the precinct. He also made calls for assistance to the various precincts and tested the response time.
READ: Albayalde sacks chiefs of sleeping, drinking cops
“So siguro ikaw din ang commander, you will do something about that attitude. Akala ng mga pulis natin, kapag pang-gabi sila, they can sleep inside the police station,” Albayalde said.
“Eh di ang sarap naman ng buhay mo, pinapasweldo ka ng gobyerno para matulog ka sa station? Anong klaseng duty ‘yon?” he asked.
Meanwhile, Albayalde also emphasized the importance of police visibility, particularly, beat patrols, in deterring petty and major crimes.
“Napaka-importante po dyan (crime prevention) is ‘yong ating visibility, ng pagpa-patrolya ng ating mga pulis. Ito ‘yong nakita nating number one prevention,” he said.
“Kaya pinipilit nating sinasabi sa ating mga kapulisan na kapag ikaw ay nagpa-patrolya, hindi ka lang dapat nasa isang sulok,” he added.
Albayalde said he really rides motorcycles once in a while to relieve himself of stress.
During the recently concluded Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections, Albayalde was also spotted riding his motorcycle in moving around Manila.
“I do it ‘pag na-libre ako, it’s one way of releasing stress, just a few hours of riding the motorcycle,” he said. /muf
