Before becoming the director of the NCRPO, Albayalde served as the provincial police chief of
Pampanga. However, in 2014, he was dismissed from his post following a drug-related operation conducted by police in
Mexico, Pampanga. The case against him was later dismissed. conducting surprise inspections in various police stations in
Metro Manila resulting in the dismissal of cops caught sleeping and drinking while on duty. It was during his time that the entire
Caloocan Police Force and its officers were dismissed following the
deaths of Kian Delos Santos and Carl Angelo Arnaiz. He was also instrumental in the preparations for the
2017 ASEAN Summits and was in command of the police response during the
2017 Resorts World Manila attack. As of May 2018, the PNP reported the killing of 4,251 drug personalities during the Philippine drug war, while Human Rights Watch estimated around 12,000 killings during the drug war. Albayalde stated that the PNP was winning the war on drugs. Albayalde was implicated
in a controversy involving the case of the 13 officers of the Pampanga police, who were branded as "
ninja cops" by the media. The officers were alleged to have profited from
methamphetamine seized from an operation in 2013 against a suspected Chinese drug lord and Albayalde who was the chief of the Pampanga police at the time was accused of intervening of the case by seeking the dismissal order against his former subordinates. Albayalde was also alleged to have benefited from the selling of the seized contraband. Albayalde denied the accusations. The
Makabayan bloc demanded the immediate resignation of Albayalde and other officials. He resigned from his position as police chief and went on non-duty status on October 14, 2019, which meant he remained a member of the police. He was set to officially retire from the police force on November 8, 2019, upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 56 and to hand over his position as chief on October 29, 2019, had he not resigned. According to the government, Albayalde stepped down in a bid to spare the Philippine National Police from the controversy and denied pressuring Albayalde to do so. The Department of Justice indicted Albayalde for graft and corruption in January 2020. The Office of the Ombudsman dismissed the case in November 2021, citing lack of sufficient evidence. In December 2024, the House of Representatives Quad Committee recommended the filing of charges against former President Rodrigo Duterte, Albayalde, and senators Bato dela Rosa and Bong Go over drug war killings under Duterte. On February 13, 2026, the
International Criminal Court included Albayalde among eight indirect co-perpetrators in the
crimes against humanity case against president Duterte during the Philippine drug war. == Political career ==