By Martin Sadongdong
Celebrating his 55th birthday on Thursday, November 8, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Oscar Albayalde has nothing to wish for but to provide better service to the Filipinos.
"I have one year to go. My wish is to be able to serve better for the people, iyan ang wish natin kahit na isang taon na lang tayo sa serbisyo (that's our wish even if there's one more year left for me in the service)," Albayalde said.
PNP chief Director General Oscar Albayalde (Kevin Tristan Espiritu / MANILA BULLETIN)
A product of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Sinagtala Class of 1986 where he graduated cum laude, Albayalde became the 22nd chief of the national police force.
He is the second PNP chief under the current administration of President Duterte, succeeding Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa.
He is set to retire on Nov. 8, 2019 upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 56 for police officers.
A native of San Fernando, Pampanga, he studied at the University of the Assumption-Pampanga from 1980 to 1982 before entering the PMA in 1982.
Aside from that, he holds a Masters degree in Public Administration at the Manuel Luis Quezon University (MLQU). He is an alumnus of Jose Abad Santos High School and San Fernando Elementary School in Pampanga.
He is married with his wife, Cherrylyn, and they were blessed with four children.
Prior to heading the 180,000-strong PNP, Albayalde saw action in various field assignments with different line units engaged in counter-insurgency and anti-criminality campaign as a junior and field grade officer.
He completed rigid foundation courses in VIP Security, Scout Ranger Orientation, Marine Basic Airborne, Close Quarter Battle, Jumpmaster Training and Crisis Response.
He also had been a member of the elite Special Action Force (SAF), served as the chief of Pampanga provincial police office and under the PNP Directorate for Plans.
After this, he was appointed as head of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) in 2016 where he started gaining significant national attention.
As the NCRPO Chief, he led the security preparation for the 31st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit which the country hosted in 2017.
He was also at forefront of the police response in the Resorts World Manila attack last year.