”Still surviving”, says Albayalde after one year as PNP chief

April 22, 2019

"Still surviving.”

This is how Police General Oscar Albayalde described his one year in service as head of the Philippine National Police (PNP).

“It’s challenging as I said, it’s challenging and hopefully will still continue on what we started. We will still continue on,” Albayalde said in a press briefing on Monday.

One of his challenges after assuming the post was the administration’s war on drugs.

Albayalde said he considered internal cleansing as his biggest challenge since this is his promise upon assuming his post that the PNP shall be the scaled-up thrusts of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), which he headed.

“We hope to realize this even after my term,” he said.

“And I hope that our end view here is to make this organization a dynamic and professional police organization. Hopefully we reach that. When we say professional, everybody will be professional down to the corporal level,” he added.

He hoped illegal activities of police officers when dealing with complainants or in dealing with people in the community will improve.

“This is what we want to happen with our personnel. We make it a dynamic, professional police force,” said Albayalde.

The PNP chief said he faces different challenges every day, different situations on the ground.

“What is important is we were be able to handle these challenges, these issues and controversies. The way it should be handle within the bounds of the law,” he said.

Albayalde assumed post last April 20, 2018 and is set to reach his mandatory retirement age of 56 years old in November 8, 2019.

President Rodrigo Duterte, in his previous speeches, said he chose Albayalde as the PNP chief because he is strict. Ella Dionisio/DMS