IT’S a pity that the person who represents the police and its campaign against illegal drugs, as exposed in the Senate hearings, acted as intervenor for the ‘ninja cops’ in a 2013 drug case. It’s a haunting issue that raised questions on the integrity of the Philippine National Police chief Gen. Oscar D. Albayalde.
Gen. Albayalde’s fallout took place a month before his retirement. The lightning struck at a time when everything about the PNP was going smoothly, and it happened as an offshoot of the probe into the anomalies committed in the national penitentiary and the application of the good conduct time allowance law.
In an unwarranted situation, the interior and local government department has launched an investigation into his illegal drug involvement, ordered no less by the President who, while in Russia, also publicly disclosed that two active colonels, without mentioning the branch of service, are involved in illegal drugs.
Indirectly, the President said he would make it sure that the next PNP top honcho would not turn out to be a mistake. This is an affirmation of disgust and an indirect admission that puts in doubt the anti-drug campaign of the PNP leadership. Not wanting to rock the boat, the President has even refrained from providing hints on who he will choose as the next PNP chief.
In last Wednesday’s Senate hearing, Gen. Albayalde’s star was further dulled. Some witnesses showed up and their revelations, this time more disturbing than others, exposed new details that inflicted more damage on the integrity of the retiring general.
Overall, however, what pinned down the general’s trustworthiness was the earlier revelation of Philippine Enforcement Agency Administration chief Gen. Aaron Aquino that he was contacted by Gen. Albayalde to freeze the implementation of the dismissal order of his men who were fund to have engaged in the recycling of illegal drugs.
Whether the initiative was a harmless request or not, the gesture was no doubt an act of intervention. Worse, some of those who were involved in the recycling, despite their demotion, were later rewarded with juicy positions. If that is not a travesty of law, what is?
Things are not looking bright for the PNP if in the end the Senate finds traces of indiscretion that can bring down the integrity of the entire organization. While such concern is already manifest in the legislative hearings, connecting the dots and pinpointing exactly whose heads must roll will only be known later. What is public is that the trauma inflicted by Gen. Albayalde’s intervention leaves a bitter taste in the mouth.
