MANILA — Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, Director General Oscar Albayalde, on Monday vowed to be relentless in cracking down on erring policemen, from those protecting illegal activities down to those committing minor infractions, such as not wearing helmets when riding motorcycles.
“Hindi lang ito sa mga illegal, pati na yung mga hindi naghe-helmet, (This is not just about illegal acts. Even those who are not wearing helmets) even the minor offenses will be looked into. Ito yung mga maliliit na bagay. Ang tanong naman natin kung maliit na bagay ito, bakit hindi magawa ng ating kapulisan? (The question is if these are just simple rules, why can’t our policemen follow it?)” Albayalde said.
Aside from illegal protection rackets on illegal drugs, transport terminals and gambling, the new PNP chief said he will ask the PNP Intelligence Group to beef up its gathering of information on rogue cops through obtaining records of those who are guilty of habitual minor infractions.
“Bakit mga tao mina-mandatory natin mag-helmet bakit yung mga pulis natin hindi makapag-helmet hindi ba (Why do we require peopel to wear helmets if we cannot require policemen to wear them),” Albayalde said.
Albayalde, who once rode a motorcycle all the way to Baguio City to attend an alumni event of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA), shrugged off criticism from motorcyclists claiming to be profiled to be flagged down in police checkpoints.
The new PNP chief has justified the strategy, citing reports of motorcycle riding gunmen and motorcyclists riding without licenses.
Albayalde, who replaced Director General Ronald dela Rosa, said policemen assigned to the PNP’s 2,000 plus precincts throughout the country who refuse to act on a complaint for the lack of a gasoline or an investigator to handle the case will also be investigated.
“These are the things that the CI (counter intelligence) operatives would have to report to us. Those who are rude to complainants. The complainant is asking for a spot report or blotter copy but they do not get one because there is no investigator in charge. These are the things that we want to be changed, want to improve on. If somebody tells us that one complainant came to a station and our policemen told him/her that there is no gasoline, investigator, or chief police, they will be sacked and we will investigate on them with suspension being the minimum sanction. We promise you that as a way to reform our police on the ground,” Albayalde said.
“Ang gusto nga natin (What we want is) not only the misguided souls but also the attitude change, it’s the culture change. When we give public service, it should be fast and swift,” Albayalde said.
The new PNP chief also said he wants to face the people behind a social media page claiming to be representing policemen and who supposedly oppose his appointment as PNP chief. (Benjamin Pulta/PNA)
