Police Gen. Oscar Albayalde, chief of the Philippine National Police, yesterday accused lawmakers calling for his resignation of being supporters of communist rebels.
“Now, we prove to the Filipino people the realm of sympathizers who are in power supporting the Leftist movement and its vain provision to dismantle and overthrow a constitutionally-elected government,” said Albayalde in a statement.
Albayalde was reacting to the call of partylist representatives for his dismissal or resignation from his post for command responsibility over the police operation in Negros Oriental last week that left 14 persons dead.
Police said the operations in Canlaon City and Manjuyod and Sta. Catalina are covered by search warrants for possible possession of firearms and explosives.
The cops accused most of those killed as supporters of local communist rebels, adding that they were killed because they tried to shoot it out with the policemen.
But militant groups said those killed were not communist rebels but farmers and leaders of local farmers’ group.
They said the operations were more of a massacre than legitimate police operations.
Albayalde said the fact there was a wounded cop would reveal that a firefight indeed happened at the course of the search warrant implementation.
And to clear doubts on the legitimacy of the operations, he said he has relieved the provincial director of Negros Oriental and the chiefs of police of Canlaon and the two towns where the bloody operations were conducted. (Aaron Recuenco)