Philippines police chief Oscar Albayalde resigns amid drug charges

Philippine national police chief resigned on Monday after he faced allegations in a Senate hearing that he intervened as a provincial police chief in 2013 to prevent his officers from being prosecuted for allegedly selling a huge quantity of illegal drugs y h seized.

Resignation amid drug allegations

Gen. Oscar Albayalde said his decision relinquishing his post was accepted by Interior Secretary Eduardo A over weekend but insisted on his incence, saying he has never been criminally or ministratively charged for alleged irregularity. Albayalde, a 55-year-old former special forces commando, resigned a few weeks before his scheduled retirement on v. 8.

dressing 190,000-strong police force in last flag-raising ceremony he led at national police hequarters, Albayalde ordered policemen to continue serving Filipi people well. “Do t let se challenges demoralize or stray you from your path,” he said.

allegations against Albayalde were latest dark cloud to loom over national police force, which has largely been enforcing President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody anti-drug crackdown that has left thousands of mostly petty drug suspects de, alarmed Western governments and human rights groups and sparked complaints about mass murder before International Criminal Court.

Opposition Sen. Franklin Drilon, a former justice secretary, said Albayalde’s resignation did t clear him of potential criminal liabilities and called for stricter vetting of candidates for top national police post. He said he would work to amend regulations to prevent illegal drugs seized by law enforcers from being stashed and resold.

“ next Philippine National Police chief will have to work doubly hard to regain credibility of police community and government’s drug war,” Drilon said. Albayalde’s deputy, Lt. Gen. Archie Francisco Gamboa, temporarily took over police force.

A stunt to foster promotion

Albayalde heed police force in Pampanga province rth of Manila when 13 of his officers seized a large quantity of methamphetamine, a powerful and prohibited stimulant, in a raid. officers later faced allegations that y presented a small fraction of seized drugs in a news conference, possibly to foster ir promotion, n hid and sold rest, with suspicions being fueled when y purchased pricey SUVs t long after.

Albayalde’s men allegedly freed a suspected Chinese drug lord in exchange for a huge bribe n arrested ar foreigner, who y presented as owner of seized drugs.

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Albayalde pointed out that state prosecutors cleared officers of criminal complaints y h faced for alleged offenses.

Albayalde said allegations against him may have been an offshoot of jockeying for top police post that he would vacate if he has stayed in his post until his retirement. But two police officials, including a general who has retired from force and is w a city mayor, testified in Senate hearings that Albayalde did t take equate actions to have his men be criminally prosecuted.

One of two officials, Aaron Aqui, who w hes Philippine Drug Enforcement ncy, testified that Albayalde called him n to inquire about status of cases against his men.

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"Floating status"

Albayalde ackwledged that as a result of 2013 incident, he was put on a “floating status,” which meant he was transferred to a regional police force without being given any specific assignment or post. Several months after, however, he was appointed as metropolitan Manila police chief and as national police chief in April last year.

“ protest was me on my appointment,” Albayalde said. “Implicitly, it may be assumed that president himself was aware of my appointment to that position.”

Asked in recent weeks about possibility of firing Albayalde, Duterte replied he would allow A to make a recommendation to him after an assessment. wait contrasts with Duterte’s outright firing of or government officials accused of corruption and irregularities.

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