Lacson urges Albayalde to 'make amends' before retirement

Senator Panfilo Lacson on Friday said embattled Philippine National Police chief Police General Oscar Albayalde can still redeem himself by expediting reinvestigation on the November 2013 buy-bust operation.

"Ang remaining 34 days, is not too long to make amends," Lacson said in a radio interview.

"Ang unang dapat ipakita niya para mawala ang duda na ang kaso nina [Police Major Rodney] Baloyo ay meron siyang kinalaman sa pagtakip man lang, dapat kung pwedeng itong remaining 30-plus days ipakita niyang mabilis maresolba ang reinvestigation na isinasagawa."

Albayalde is set to retire on November 8.

Lacson said the reinvestigation can immediately be done as the evidence are already at hand.

“Tutal wala nang masyadong ebidensyang kailangan doon, naroon lahat na dokumento. Madaling i-decide kung nagsinungaling ba si Baloyo at totoo bang 10 a.m. at hindi 4 p.m. ang operation. Totoo bang ang mga SUVs ginawa ng deed of sale sa kanila? Totoo bang may perang nakuha roon? Totoo bang 200 kilos ang shabu? Nariyan na lahat na dokumento, re-review-hin na lang eh."

A former PNP chief himself, Lacson said he believes the answers to all the pending questions would remove speculations that Albayalde was covering up for his former men.

Lacson admitted that even he has started doubting the Albayalde.

"So ‘yan man lang maipakita niya para maialis ang pagdududa man lang sa kanya dahil medyo sa totoo lang ako mismo nagkaroon ng kaunting pagdududa sa kanya dahil although iba ang duda, iba ang ebidensya, unless may isang magsalita o si Baloyo mismong magsabi na totoo yan at kasama namin si Col. Albayalde at the time, ibang usapin ‘yan," he said.

The senator said  Albayalde cannot be accused of anything yet so the latter should expedite the reinvestigation and have it resolved before he retires.

Albayalde was the Pampanga provincial director when the controversial buy-bust operation was conducted by 13 of his men led by Balayo.

The police officers reported that they seized 36 kilos of shabu but an investigation conducted by Criminal Investigation and Detection Group showed that 200 kilos were actually confiscated.

Then Region 3 police chief Raul Petrasanta ordered the dismissal of the 13 police officers but it was downgraded to demotion by one rank later. —Amita Legaspi/KBK, GMA News