'Red October' not a serious threat for now, says PNP Chief Albayalde
Published Oct 1, 2018 04:19 pm
By Martin Sadongdong
The country’s top cop said on Monday that the Philippine National Police (PNP) is not considering the ouster plot against President Duterte, dubbed as “Red October” by the military, as a serious threat for now.
PNP chief Director General Oscar Albayalde
(Mark Balmores / MANILA BULLETIN) Nevertheless, Director General Oscar Albayalde said that the claims made by critics of the Duterte administration that the ouster plot was concocted by the government in order to divert the attention of the public from pressing concerns like rising inflation and prices in commodities were untrue. “Hindi natin siya nakikita (We cannot consider the Red October plot) as a threat as of this time but it can be a concern. That is as far as the PNP is concerned. We don’t know with other agencies,” Albayalde said. However, the PNP Chief clarified that this is no indication that critics are correct in their claim that the ouster plot was made up by the government. “Hindi siguro (It’s probably not . I think there’s a basis for the statement of the President. Remember the President has unlimited access to information, hindi lang sa PNP (not only from the PNP),” he said. Brig. Gen. Antonio Parlade, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) deputy chief of staff, made the claim last week that a big protest to be organized by leftist groups will be held between October 11 and October 17 in connection with the 50th founding anniversary of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) in December. It was Parlade who revealed the Red October plot allegedly cooked up by the communists with opposition leaders and rightist elements. This claim has been rejected by all the parties tagged by the general. Albayalde assured that the PNP continues to monitor the situation, citing a massive protest allegedly set by critics of the administration for next week. He said police have yet to verify if there is an imminent threat on the activity. “With regards to that, kung ito ay connected sa Red October, wala pa tayong makuhang ano dyan (if this is connected to Red October, we have yet to get ),” Albayalde said.
PNP chief Director General Oscar Albayalde(Mark Balmores / MANILA BULLETIN) Nevertheless, Director General Oscar Albayalde said that the claims made by critics of the Duterte administration that the ouster plot was concocted by the government in order to divert the attention of the public from pressing concerns like rising inflation and prices in commodities were untrue. “Hindi natin siya nakikita (We cannot consider the Red October plot) as a threat as of this time but it can be a concern. That is as far as the PNP is concerned. We don’t know with other agencies,” Albayalde said. However, the PNP Chief clarified that this is no indication that critics are correct in their claim that the ouster plot was made up by the government. “Hindi siguro (It’s probably not . I think there’s a basis for the statement of the President. Remember the President has unlimited access to information, hindi lang sa PNP (not only from the PNP),” he said. Brig. Gen. Antonio Parlade, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) deputy chief of staff, made the claim last week that a big protest to be organized by leftist groups will be held between October 11 and October 17 in connection with the 50th founding anniversary of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) in December. It was Parlade who revealed the Red October plot allegedly cooked up by the communists with opposition leaders and rightist elements. This claim has been rejected by all the parties tagged by the general. Albayalde assured that the PNP continues to monitor the situation, citing a massive protest allegedly set by critics of the administration for next week. He said police have yet to verify if there is an imminent threat on the activity. “With regards to that, kung ito ay connected sa Red October, wala pa tayong makuhang ano dyan (if this is connected to Red October, we have yet to get ),” Albayalde said.