Albayalde welcomes DoJ decision to charge him
Credit to Author: Darwin Pesco| Date: Fri, 17 Jan 2020 17:12:33 +0000
Former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Oscar Albayalde welcomed the filing of charges against him in connection with the alleged recycling of confiscated drugs.
In a message to reporters, Albayalde said the recommendation of the Department of Justice (DoJ) to indict him would finally give him his day in court.
“My conscience remains clear, and I am confident that the truth will bear me out in the end,” he added.
Last year, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) cleared Albayalde of administrative charges for the lack of “substantive evidence.”
On Friday, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said the Justice department’s recommendation did not contradict the DILG decision.
Albayalde was only “probably” guilty criminally of graft charges, Año said.
“The DoJ finding does not contradict the DILG as probable cause merely engenders a well-founded belief that Albayalde is only probably guilty on the criminal side,” Año told reporters in a message.
Año said Albayalde would have the opportunity to defend himself in a venue that ensures his constitutional rights will be observed.
“Let justice take its course,” Año said.
PNP spokesman Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac said in a statement Albayalde “remains innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt.”
He added that PNP respects the DoJ’s decision.
Albayalde was given by the DILG a “fair chance” to explain his side, Banac pointed out.
“Still, the DoJ panel found probable cause to indict him for graft.”
All drug charges against Albayalde were dismissed, the spokesman said.
During a Senate hearing, Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency chief Aaron Aquino accused Albayalde of meddling in the investigation of 13 policemen who were accused of recycling confiscated crystak meth or shabu.
The “ninja cops” are Maj. Rodney Baloyo 4th; Capt. Joven de Guzman Jr.; Master Sergeants Jules Maniago, Donald Roque, Ronald Santos, Rommel Vital, Alcindor Tinio and Eligio Valeroso; Staff Sergeants Dindo Dizon, Gilbert de Vera, Romeo Guerrero Jr. and Dante Dizon; and Cpl. Anthony Lacsamana.
De Guzman, Vital, Guerrero and Roque were already dismissed by PNP Officer in Charge Lt. Gen. Archie Francisco Gamboa after the recommendation of the Internal Affairs Service.
The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group complaint against Albayalde includes corruption, mishandling of illegal drugs, falsification of documents, and negligence and tolerance.
The Senate panel, headed by Sen. Richard Gordon, found Albayalde “legally liable” for alleged “monumental cover-up” among his men involved in a questionable anti-drug operation in 2013 in Mexico, Pampanga.
On Friday, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said the indictment of Albayalde would serve as a warning to ninja cops.
“An indictment of a former top cop should send a clear signal to unscrupulous members of the police force involved in the recycling of seized illegal drugs: your days are numbered,” he added.
“You may not be caught today or tomorrow but, certainly, the law will catch up with you and send you behind bars. The justice system may be slow but no one can escape from it,” Drilon said.
He added: “It is only when we stop the impunity that we can truly end this decades-old problem of recycling of illegal drugs perpetuated by these so-called ninja cops, the very same people in charge of this administration’s bloody anti-illegal drug war that has killed over 5,000 Filipinos.”
Albayalde resigned in October 2019, a few days before his mandatory retirement on November 8.
Another senator, Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, agreed with Drilon.
“This filing of cases sends a very strong message to everyone, including those personnel entrusted to implement the law, that we are serious in this relentless war against illegal drugs and we will not backtrack in this campaign,” he said in a statement.
“Our relentless campaign against illegal drugs continues and will intensify further until we put an end to this menace,” he added.
“The President kept on telling us that his campaign against illegal drugs is part of an internal cleansing process in government and this includes the police force,” Go said.
Go was a confidant of the President when the latter was the mayor of Davao City. He served briefly as special assistant to the President before becoming a senator.
WITH BERNADETTE E. TAMAYO AND JAVIER JOE ISMAEL