Albayalde ready to face probe into 'ninja cops,' urges public to 'move on'

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine National Police chief Oscar Albayalde urged the public to "move on" from the "ninja cops" issue as he said he is ready to face a government probe.

“I am ready to face investigation to once and for all clear my name and spare the [Philippine National Police] from further embarrassment and unwanted public opinion created by this external and internal political machinations,” Albayalde said in a press conference streamed by the PNP Public Information Office.

Albayalde said he is grateful that he is allowed to have an “opportunity to be heard at a proper probe body.”

President Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday clarified that a cop with a rank of colonel and not police general was mentioned in the report on illegal drugs. The president also said he would not give a knee jerk reaction to allegations against the police chief.

“Give me a clear proof that he was there on the take or was in the trafficking of drugs,” Duterte said.

Albayalde said Duterte makes his decisions based on evidence and not accusations.

“I enjoin everyone to move on now that the president has already spoken,” Albayalde added.

The Department of Justice on Sunday said it would re-open its investigation into the 13 alleged ninja cops who are accused of making off with P650 million worth of shabu in a 2013 Pampanga drug raid.

READ: DOJ forms new panel to probe ‘ninja cops’

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año meanwhile said he would meet with the National Police Commission to look into the next actions to be taken against ninja cops.

'All accusations, no evidence'

The police chief also said: “Ever since the Senate hearing, if the public noticed, there has been no single proof whatsoever that was shown who is accusing here.”

Albayalde also noted that everything thrown against him were “all allegations.”

“I have even the script of Senate proceedings and even on television, there is nothing that was shown that is evidence or anyone who would corroborate a single person’s allegation,” the PNP chief said in a mix of English and Filipino.

RELATED: Resolve review of 'ninja cops' case before retirement, Lacson advises Albayalde

Albayalde is accused of protecting his previous subordinates who were linked to the 2013 drug raid.

In the said operation, police Maj. Rodney Baloyo and 12 other policemen were accused of making off with shabu they seized. It was said that the cops yielded only 38 kilos of shabu, even though over 200 kilos, worth P700 million, was confiscated.

Albayalde was then heading the Pampanga provincial police office.

The police chief has denied intervening in the case of his former subordinates and has assured the public that the ninja cops controversy would not affect the campaign against narcotics. — Kristine Joy Patag