Albayalde: Naga not a shabu hotbed but consistently fifth in crime volume

Philippine National Police chief Director General Oscar Albayalde on Wednesday said that while Naga City has problems with illegal drugs, it could not be considered as a hotbed as earlier tagged by President Rodrigo Duterte.

“Meron talaga (pero) not necessarily siya ang pinaka hot pero meron talaga,” Albayalde said in an interview with CNN-Philippines.

“When you say hotbed parang source kasi talaga ‘yan. I really don't know where the President got his information on that,” he said.

The PNP chief said that as far as the PNP is concerned, there are many parts of Bicol Region that have problems with illegal drugs.

“Marami rin naman doon sa Bicol Region. In all other regions naman pero ‘yun nga kasi because it's a shoreline. Marami kasi ang pumapasok doon na namonitor kaya ganun,” he said.

But later at a press conference in Camp Crame, Albayalde said that Naga City consistently ranked fifth among the major cities in the country in terms of crime volume in the first semester of the last two years.

“Based on PNP data that among the major cities of the country, Naga City has consistently ranked No. 5 in terms of crime volume in the 1st semester of 2017 and 2018,” Albayalde told reporters.

“If the assumption is that crime and drugs are interrelated, we can rightfully make our own conclusion,” he added.

In the earlier television interview, Albayalde said that in the previous years, there were big shabu laboratories discovered in the region.

“Just two, three months ago diyan ‘yung papasok na mga shabu and remember from the shorelines in Bicol Region, not necessarily in Naga City. In Camarines Sur, ilang beses na nakarecover ng kilos of cocaine floating in the sea and another ‘yung mga tinago ng mga fishermen. So ito siguro ang nakarating sa Presidente,” Albayalde said.

Duterte earlier said that Naga City is a hotbed of shabu as he questioned the competence of Vice President Leni Robredo to lead the country.

“I have nothing against Robredo. She's a lawyer. You have heard her talk. But I do not think she can improve on anything here. Of course she will deny it. You can ask the hotbed of shabu in the past years. I will not mention the name. It was Naga City,” the President said. 

Robredo hails from Naga City where her husband, the late former Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo, served as mayor for nearly two decades. — Amita Legaspi/RSJ, GMA News