By Mar Gabriel
Eagle News Service
Philippine National Police Chief Director General Oscar Albayalde on Wednesday, May 23, said he has requested for his men to be allowed to take part in the annual Balikatan exercises.
In a press conference on Wednesday, May 23, Albayalde said he made the request to United States Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim himself in a recent meeting.
“I’ve requested na ‘pag may Balikatan sana kahit na ‘yung SAF (Special Action Force) lang or ‘yung our Regional Mobile Force will be accommodated,“ he said.
He said that if this was allowed, this would not be a new thing.
When he was “still with the Philippine Constabulary Special Action Force,” he said every year they would take part in the exercises of Filipino and American soldiers.
“Para this is just one way of refreshing our police and those particularly assigned with the mobile forces,” he said.
It was Albayalde who also pushed for police recruits’ mandatory training in the SAF’s basic internal security operations.
The first batch of trainees came from the Philippine National Police Academy Maragtas Class of 2018.
When Albayalde assumed office, he said he wanted to cleanse the PNP of scalawags and instill discipline in them.