DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 25 July)—The regional police chief in the Davao Region, Brig. Gen. Nicolas Torre III, has claimed that the police force in the city are not demoralized as a supposed petition by Dabawenyos is calling on the reinstatement of the 19 relieved station commanders and the removal of the newly appointed city police director.
For Torre, there is no “empirical data” to show that the city’s policemen are “demoralized” despite the frequent changes of command.
“I would like to look at the empirical data that says that the policemen in Davao are demoralized,” the police general told reporters at the sidelines of the city council’s session Tuesday afternoon.
“Baka magulat kayo na baka ayaw akong paalisin ng mga iyan (You might be shocked that the police officers do not want me removed),” he added in jest.
Torre said policemen are ensured of a “proven system” that would have “time for themselves and time for family,” which can “impact their quality of service and response time.”
Torre’s pronouncement is apparently contrary to the supposed petition paper signed by thousands of Dabawenyos that is calling for the reinstatement of the 19 station commanders and the removal of Col. Hansel Marantan, the final of the three officers named to head the Davao City Police Office on July 8.
City Councilor Luna Acosta, chair of the committee on public safety and security, presented during the Sangguniang Panlungsod’s session on Tuesday the petition, adding that it has been forwarded to the People’s Law Enforcement Board (PLEB).
“With the overwhelming number of signatures here I don’t think the [PLEB] can just move this away. So this is just an advanced notice to the DCPO and Philippine National Police that the people’s law enforcement board will be looking into this protestant petition and we will inform you of the proceedings,” Acosta said.
The petition dated July 15, a copy of which was obtained by MindaNews, stated that the 19 station commanders relieved on July 8 had “no reasons to be relieved and forced to move to another location”.
“Isip mga lumulupyo sa siyudad, angayan nga kita mopadayag sa atong pagsaway sa gihimo sa mga kapulisan sa Davao ug pagplastar kang P/Col Marantan isip city police director (As residents of the city, we need to express our opposition to what they did to the police force of Davao and the installation of Col. Marantan as city police director),” the petition read.
When Acosta sought comments from Torre, the latter said the relief of 19 commanders were backed by “empirical data.”
“When I made that decision… I have empirical data on that. They were actually not removed from the region, they were just reassigned from Davao City to other parts of the region,” Torre said.
In a phone interview on July 8, Police Regional Office 11 spokesperson Catherine dela Rey said the 19 station commanders will be replaced by personnel from police provincial offices and the regional headquarters as part of the “duty or work of the regional director to assign or reassign officers.”
“There is no political motivation, this is part of our reshuffling,” the spokesperson added.
When Torre was asked if he is aware of the petition, he said they need to review and evaluate the petition before considering any actions.
“The decision to replace or designate a commander depends on several factors, and this might be one of them. I will review the decision-making process used by the national headquarters regarding the DCPO personnel,” he added.
Acosta said in an interview earlier that the recent changes at the DCPO “might have undermined police forces’ morale.”
“Imagine, so many seasoned officers being relieved. What will happen to our forces on the ground? This is very, very concerning for our peace and security,” she said.
Capt. Hazel Tuazon, DCPO spokesperson, said in a press conference Thursday that they will make sure to fulfill their duties as police officers, especially that big events like the Kadayawan Festival and IronMan 70.3 triathlon will commence in August. (Ian Carl Espinosa / MindaNews)
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