President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday said he has asked Interior Secretary Eduardo Año to supervise the Philippine National Police while he chooses the next top cop.
Seven weeks after PNP chief Oscar Albayalde resigned under a cloud of scandal, the President acknowledged he was having difficulty choosing a replacement, particularly from the capital.
“In the province, we have excellent policemen but in Manila? That’s why I didn’t appoint a PNP chief. That’s why I told Secretary Año, he should supervise it,” Duterte said in a speech in North Cotabato.
As the second-in-command, Lt. Gen. Archie Gamboa was assigned acting PNP chief, after Albayalde relinquished his post on Oct. 14 over his links to “ninja” cops who resold confiscated drugs.
The Department of the Interior and Local Government has recommended the PNP’s top three officials as possible successors: Gamboa; Lt. Gen. Camilo Cascolan; and Major Gen. Guillermo Eleazar.
All three are graduates of the Philippine Military Academy.
Duterte earlier said that while they are “all good,” he finds it difficult to choose who among the recommended officers will be chosen as the next PNP chief.
He also jested he would appoint as top cop somebody who could assure him that all drug lords will be killed in the government’s anti-drug campaign.
Duterte again said he would kill any policemen who were involved in the illegal drug trade.
“(If you enter the illegal drug trade), there is no other way to deal with you except to kill you,” Duterte said in a mix of Filipino and English.
Last month, Duterte said he would rather direct the PNP himself than appoint a corrupt chief, insisting that the next leader not to be involved in any allegation or case of corruption.
In a TV interview earlier this month, he said even if all contenders were “good” he wanted the next PNP chief to guarantee that all drug lords would be killed. With PNA
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