President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday said he should be given a wider pool of choices to pick the next chief of the Philippine National Police from, after admitting he was having difficulty naming the successor to general Oscar Albayalde, who relinquished his post amid the “ninja cops” scandal.
“I should have a wider choice, but the public can expect that my only consideration, the only standard, the only thing that I would ask for of the next PNP chief is honesty,” President Duterte told ABS-CBN News in an interview.
“Even if you are stupid or you’re not the top of your class, but if you are the honest guy, I will go for it,” he added.
On Monday, Duterte admitted that he needed more time to choose among the candidates recommended to him by the National Police Commission.
“It’s kind of, not really messy, but it’s very hard to—at this time—to choose a candidate who would really…The appropriate guy. It’s difficult,” Duterte told reporters in a chance interview.
Albayalde stepped down on Oct. 14 amid the accusations he protected his subordinates who were accused of reselling illegal drugs captured in a controversial drug raid in 2013.
He was supposed to step down on Nov. 8 upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 56.
Duterte cited honesty as his standard in choosing the next top cop to lead the 190,000-strong police force.
Lt. Gen. Archie Gamboa has been serving as acting police chief since Albayalde opted to go into non-duty status.
Last week, the National Police Commission submitted the names of three top-ranking police officers to Duterte.
On the list were Gamboa, Deputy Chief for Operations Lt. Gen Camilo Cascolan, and Directorial Staff Chief Maj. Gen Guillermo Eleazar, erstwhile chief of the Metro Manila police.
Meanwhile, Duterte said he will let the Interior and Justice departments to decide on Albayalde’s case and the case of his men who have been tagged as “ninja” cops.
“I am putting my cards on Año’s table and the Secretary of Justice,” Duterte said in his speech, referring to Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año.