MANILA, Philippines – He has been on the frontlines and in the news during many of the major controversies and issues hounding the Metro Manila police since President Rodrigo Duterte came into power.
Soon, Police Director Oscar Albayalde will be in the frontlines and in the news as chief not just of the National Capital Region (NCR) but of the 170,000-strong Philippine National Police (PNP).
Duterte made the impromptu announcement on Thursday, April 5, during a speech in Malacañang Palace, although officers in the PNP already got wind of the news Wednesday. (READ: Oscar Albayalde is next PNP chief – Duterte)
Albayalde is a member of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class of 1986, and is, therefore, a mistah (classmate) of the outgoing PNP chief, Director General Ronald dela Rosa. He belonged to the charlie company in the academy and will be retiring on November 8, 2019 when he turns 56.
Dela Rosa was set to retire in January 2018, but his term was extended upon Duterte's orders.
The decision to replace Dela Rosa right away came as a "surprise" to some senior officers of the PNP, who expected the former Davao City police chief to stay on for up to a year.
Unlike Dela Rosa, Albayalde was never assigned in Davao City or Davao Region prior to his post as NCRPO chief and his pending appointment as PNP chief.
Duterte had initially said that the PNP's second-in-command, Ramon Apolinario, would be the next chief of the police force.
Who is Albayalde?
Before being appointed NCR Police Office chief during Dela Rosa's term, Albayalde was executive officer of the Directorate for Plans in Camp Crame. Prior to this, he was Pampanga provincial police chief, although he was sacked from his post in 2014 over a drug-related operation conducted by cops in Mexico town.
He is a native of San Fernando City in Pampanga.
Most Filipinos might know Albayalde as the PNP's talking head during preparations for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Manila and a shooting at the popular Resorts World Manila in Pasay City.
The 54-year-old has 3 children with his wife. He's been known to bring along his youngest daughter during inspections around the Metro.
He is also a biking enthusiast, and is known to use his big bike for both work and play. Albayalde went around the Metro to conduct surprise inspections on precincts. He also rode his big bike from Manila to Baguio during the PMA homecoming in February 2018, and from Manila to Silang, Cavite, for the Philippine National Police Academy homecoming, during which he was "adopted" by the class of 1995. – Rappler.com
