By Mar Gabriel
Eagle News Service
Philippine National Police Chief Oscar Albayalde believes President Rodrigo Duterte made his statement on extrajudicial killings merely “out of frustration.”
“Kasi wala na maibato sa kaniya, kung ano anong issue, so parang ang sinabi na lang niya, o sige, inaamin ko nalang..So out of frustration sabi niya,” Albayalde said.
Albayalde reiterated there were no extrajudicial killings in the country.
He said policemen agreed with the 96 percent of Filipinos who believe drug suspects should be arrested alive.
“If we compare the more than 160,000 arrests already since Day 1 of the Duterte administration, compared to the 5,000 killed in police operations, iyan po ay nasa 2 to 3 percent siguro. So kung yan ang focus, e then baka pareho lang ang number of deaths and arrested,” Albayalde said.
If there were policemen who abused of their power, Albayalde said this was not condoned by the PNP.
In fact, he said 674 policemen have been charged for violating human rights, 89 of whom have been dismissed from the service.
Even those engaged in illegal drug activities have been punished by the PNP, Albayalde said—from July 2016 to July 2018, 362 policemen have already been dismissed from the service.
“Marami na rin ang natransfer from their place of assignment to different parts of Mindanao. And while they were transferred, they are still facing administrative charges also,” Albayalde said.
