Hearings at the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee on the irregular—to put it mildly—activities at the Bureau of Corrections have expanded their scope.
No longer is the probe just about the grant of Good Conduct Time Allowance to prisoners, whether or not they had been convicted of heinous crimes. Allegations of privileges for sale, including hospital stays, comfortable living arrangements and prostitution are no longer new to the public.
This week, however, we heard about yet another racket, perpetuated by the members of the Philippine National Police. So-called ninja cops recycle the illegal drugs they confiscate, and then make them available for circulation through the network of detained drug lords—all for lucrative personal gain, of course. The scheme is known as “agaw-bato.”
We also learned in the hearings that six years ago one such operation happened during a shabu raid in Mexico town in Pampanga. At that time, the police head for the province was Oscar Albayalde, who today is chief of the PNP. Some 13 cops were accused of making money from the seized 160 kilograms of shabu—worth around P648 million—and they were all under Albayalde’s command at that time. The cops also arrested one Johnson Lee, but they allegedly set him free and presented another Chinese, for another P50 million.
Witnesses including Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency chief Aaron Aquino and former Criminal Investigation and Detection Group head, now Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, testified that Albayalde took unusual interest in the ensuing investigation, doing more than inquire about the status of the probe. In 2014, the cops were ordered dismissed. But Aquino said Albayalde called him to ask that he not carry out the dismissal.
This leaves Albayalde in a sorry predicament just a few weeks before his retirement. If Magalong and Aquino are telling the truth, this is a predicament only the PNP chief has brought upon himself.
It is clear to the rest of us what Albayalde should do—reign his post and cooperate in a full investigation into the allegations. Clinging to his job while living under a cloud of doubt will not help the PNP any, nor boost its image of being an institution that protects its people and leads the fight against drugs and corruption. It’s a blot on the record of an administration that claims to be committed to fighting these twin evils.
Albayalde would not have long to cling to his job—he retires in November—if he does decide to cling. It will however show, at best, a weak, uninspiring leadership at a time when Philippine cops are desperate for somebody to truly look up to.