The Philippine national police chief resigned on Monday after he faced allegations in a Senate hearing that he intervened as a provincial police chief in 2013 to prevent his officers from being prosecuted for allegedly selling a huge quantity of illegal drugs they had seized.
Gen. Oscar Albayalde said his decision relinquishing his post was accepted by Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano over the weekend but insisted on his innocence, saying he has never been criminally or administratively charged for the alleged irregularity.
Albayalde resigned a few weeks before his scheduled retirement on Nov. 8.
Addressing the 190,000-strong police force in the last flag-raising ceremony he led at the national police headquarters, Albayalde ordered the policemen to continue serving the Filipino people well.
"Do not let these challenges demoralize or stray you from your path," he said.
The allegations against Albayalde were the latest dark cloud to loom over the national police force, which has largely been enforcing
"Implicitly, it may be assumed that the president himself was aware of my appointment to that position."