The next Philippine National Police chief could help prevent the “speculation and division” in the ranks and improve the image of the police force, a senior police officer said yesterday.
Police Brig. Gen. Valeriano de Leon, chief of the Police Regional Office 7, recognized the need to appoint a new police chief following the “ninja” cop controversy that rocked the institution.
“There are limitations for the officer-in-charge to dispatch,” De Leon said when asked on the urgency to appoint a new head of the PNP. “Kailangan talaga natin ng PNP chief para sa ganoon hindi gaanong magkaroon ng speculation at division in the organization kasi kailangan malaman nila kung sino talaga,” he added.
De Leon assured that he would support whoever will be the next chief of the PNP, following the retirement of former PNP chief Police Gen. Oscar Albayalde. “It does not matter who will be the chief PNP. What matters is the person should lead the organization to restore back the affected image of the PNP,” he added.
De Leon also said he was thankful for the support amid reports he was among those being considered to become the country’s next top cop. But he claimed that he was not aware of being included in the list of potential contenders for PNP chief. “Thank you very much. Tulad ng sabi ko hindi na matter sa akin ‘yun. I have been in the service for more than 30 years. Kailangan ma-restore natin image come to think of what transpired in the controversy,” he said.
De Leon was in Malacañang to present to the Presidential Task Force on Media Security the policeman implicated in the killing of broadcaster Dindo Generoso in Dumaguete City recently. De Leon was appointed to lead the PRO 7 last month. The former head of the PNP Firearms and Explosives Office is a member of the Philippine Military Academy Class of 1989.
Malacañang recently said President Duterte was still looking for honest man to lead the police force, days after Albayalde retired from the service.
Albayalde quit his post ahead of his Nov. 8 retirement amid allegations of involvement in the drug recycling scandal. He has denied the charges.
Disappointed by the ninja cop controversy, the President has warned that he could be “more evil” than the policemen engaged in the narcotics trade. He told rogue cops that they don’t have “monopoly of evil” in the country, as he threatened to “create hell for everybody” in the remainder of his term. (Genalyn Kabiling)
