
MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday said he would opt to wait for the Senate and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to end their respective probes on the case of the so-called ‘ninja cops’ before deciding what action to take on them and on Philippine National Police (PNP) chief General Oscar Albayalde who was linked to the controversy.
“So, the most proper thing to do, which is in line with procedural due process, is to wait for the closure of the investigation by the Senate,” Duterte told reporters on Tuesday evening (Oct. 1) during a press conference before departing for Russia for an official visit.
The president expects the DILG to come up with a report which will be his basis whether to “dismiss, discharge, terminate” any cop involved in the issue. He also assured he would be fair.
“When it is forwarded to me since the police is under DILG. It’s a bureau under Secretary (Eduardo) Año. So, I will forward it to him, give him specific period to complete his investigation,” he said.
When pressed for his comment on the possibility of dismissing Albayalde, Duterte said it he would do so only if he has sufficient proof of wrong doing.
“If it comes to a serious thing as dismissing a top official here and there, it has to be for a good reason and there must be enough proof,” he said.
The Senate on Tuesday resumed its inquiry on the alleged existence of ‘ninja cops’ in the force or those police officers engaged in the recycling or reselling of illegal drugs seized from operations.
The issue was revived when Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) chief Aaron Aquino bared during a 2020 budget hearing about the continued activities of ‘ninja cops’ and their link to the so-called Manila ‘drug queen,’ later identified as former village chief Guia Gomez Castro.
Albayalde’s name was dragged into the issue after former Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) chief and now Baguio City mayor Benjamin Magalong mentioned a controversial 2013 anti-drug operation carried out by cops under Albayalde who was then the head of Pampanga police provincial office.
Albayalde was relieved from his post in 2014 for command responsibility while the involved operatives were charged and ordered dismissed.
The dismissal order, however, was not implemented as the police officers were only demoted in 2017.
Magalong accused Albayalde of intervening in the case of his former men, which the PNP chief denied. He insisted during the Senate hearing that he only called then Central Luzon Regional police director Aquino in 2016 to ask about the status of his former men’s case.
Prior to facing the Senate probe, Aquino, Magalong and Albayalde met separately with Duterte to discuss the matter.
Although the PNP continues to cleanse its ranks of corrupt cops, Duterte said it has yet to fully rid of police scalawags in the force.
“Alam mo ang PNP is not that bad. By and large, we have a very good PNP working for our country. Iyong scalawags diyan sa ‘yung ninja cops have been there in Manila, one or two in Davao, and everywhere,” he said. – RRD (with details from Correspondent Rosalie Coz)
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