PHILIPPINE National Police (PNP) chief Oscar Albayalde on Tuesday, May 8, faced and ordered the filing of charges against the police officers who allegedly bashed him through social media.
Albayalde said among the 11 police officers who were summoned by the Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management (DIDM), only nine responded and appeared at the PNP headquarters in Camp Crame, Quezon City.
He said the police officers were among those who were identified by the Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG) as those who were badmouthing him on the Facebook page "Buhay Lespu" (Life of a Police Officer).
Albayalde said there are 20 others with whom he will be meeting in the days to come. These officers are assigned in Leyte, Cordillera, Navotas and Aviation security Group, among others.
"I talked to them, I made them realize na mali ginagawa ng mga ganyan dahil sabi ko nga we are in the uniformed services. Under the Constitution, we have limited power, we cannot fully exercise our right to organize, nasa Constitution po yan and sabi nga we are limited although we practice freedom of speech and freedom of assembly pag nandun ka sa uniformed service may limitations ka always nasa batas yan," he said.
Albayalde said the officers who have the guts to face him will be charged with conduct unbecoming of a police officer, which may result in their dismissal from the police service, while those who will refuse to face him will get an additional case for disobedience.
Albayalde said this is part of their internal cleansing and aims to instill discipline among his men.
"Ang gusto ko lang dito is to instill discipline (among) these people dahil baka gayahin ng iba pa akala nila okay lang itong ginagawa nila na minumura nila sarili nilang commander," he said.
"Ang point ko dito ito pag nakasama mo sa isang operation at delikado ang operasyon pwede mo ba silang pagkatiwalaan e dito sa maliit na bagay minumura kang patalikod baka sila pa bumaril sa likod mo so these people are really... ito 'yung mge mejo pasaway sa aming organization," he added.
However, Albayalde reminded the PNP personnel that their grievance committee as well as his office are always open to hear their complaints.
"I would like to remind itong mga pulis natin if they have gripes or grievance pwede nilang i-ano yan sa ating grievance committee may tamang paraan para mag-express ng grievance hindi sa Facebook o sa social media na parang tinataga mo ang kasama mo at your commander sa maling paraan," he said.
(Police officers who have gripes may lodge a complaint before the grievance committee. They should not post on Facebook or any other social media platform.) (VoxPop Philippines)