MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte did not hide his frustration over the Philippine National Police (PNP), saying the institution has always been a problem for any administration.
In an interview with the media at Malacañang on Tuesday afternoon, President Duterte has given Interior Secretary Eduardo Año a blanket authority to fix the problems in the PNP.
“I have ordered Secretary Año to make the corrections… It is on his shoulder the future of how the police would behave in the coming years,” President Duterte said.
“Historically, the PNP has always been a problem for any administration. Alam ninyo ‘yan. And I think that with the remaining two years, if I can just fix a third of what’s bugging the PNP, and that is corruption,” he added.
Duterte has yet to name the new PNP chief after admitting that he has troubles appointing a replacement for Oscar Albayalde, who stepped down from his post in October.
Among the candidates for the PNP chief post were PNP officer-in-charge Archie Gamboa, deputy chief for operations Camilo Cascolan and directorial staff head Guillermo Eleazar.
Albayalde relinquished his post before his retirement age after he was accused during a Senate investigation of blocking the dismissal of 13 policemen involved in an irregular drug raid in Pampanga during his stint as provincial police chief in 2013./PN
