(Eagle News)–Philippine National Police Chief Oscar Albayalde believes the two police generals President Rodrigo Duterte said were still “playing with illegal drugs” were in an old drug list existing during the time of his predecessor, now-Senator Ronald dela Rosa.
Albayalde made the remark in an interview over radio dzmm on Saturday, Oct. 5, as he denied feeling alluded to by the President’s statement.
The Palace has said the President found the two generals were protecting ninja cops.
“Well, kung ako po yun ‘di na siguro magsasalita si Secretary Panelo,” Albayalde said, referring to Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo’s statement Albayalde still had the trust and confidence of Duterte.
He also said, however, that Duterte would wait for the results of the Senate probe into the ninja cops issue before taking action.
Albayalde has been accused of intervening in the cases filed against 13 policemen who were his men when he was Pampanga provincial director over a 2013 drug raid the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group said was irregular.
The policemen, who were accused of presenting to the media only 36 kilograms of the 200 kilograms of shabu the CIDG said they seized during the raid, and of letting the suspect they arrested during the raid go, were ordered dismissed in 2014, but the order was never implemented.
Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency chief Aaron Aquino revealed Albayalde called him sometime in 2016 and told him not to implement the order as the then Central Luzon police director.
Aquino said he told Albayalde, then the National Capital Region Police Office chief, that he would deploy the 13 policemen to Mindanao.
Albayalde has admitted calling Aquino, but maintained he never influenced him into doing anything.