BAGUIO CITY – Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan reported the new officer-in-charge of the Baguio City Police Office (BCPO is authorized to introduce changes in the existing peace and order programs, plans and activities of the local police force provided that the same will translate to the improvement of the city’s peace and order situation.
The local chief executive said that BCPO officer-in-charge Senior Superintendent Eliseo Tanding was instructed to maintain the existing and proven peace and order programs of his predecessor Senior Superintendent Ramil L. Saculles because the same had already been proven to be effective in sustaining the continuous reign of peace and order in the country’s undisputed Summer Capital.
“We have no place for the conduct of trial and error in terms of peace and order programs so as not to compromise the safety and security of our constituents and visitors. We have learned our lessons from the past thus we reiterated the position of the local government to the new police official to sustain the proven and established peace and order interventions for the benefit of our people,” Domogan stressed.
Tanding was formally presented to the officials and employees of the local government as the new BCPO officer-in-charge during the regular flag raising ceremony at the city hall grounds last Monday where he solicited the support of various sectors in the city for the success of his stint at the helm of Baguio’s finest.
Domogan ordered the local police force to start preparing for the influx of visitors for the upcoming big events in the city such as the 69th edition of the Fil-Am amateur invitational golf tournament, the month-long Christmas festivities, the 24th edition of Panagbenga or the Baguio flower festival, and other major events that will be hosted by the local government in the coming months.
According to him, the local government and the BCPO need to sustain their close coordination so that matters on peace and order, traffic management, anti-drug operations, anti-gambling campaign, and other peacekeeping and anti-criminality efforts will be appropriately executed to achieve lasting peace in the city.
Tanding was reportedly born in Ucab, Itogon, Benguet and studied in Baguio City before graduating as a member of the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) Class 1990 and served in various positions as a junior and senior officer of the Philippine National Police (PNP) before being assigned in BCPO.
Under the provisions of Republic Act (RA) 6975 or the law that created the DILG and the PNP, an officer-in-charge is only authorized to serve a police office for a period of 30 days awaiting the possible designation of a permanent City Director who will be recommended by the local chief executive for appointment from the list of five qualified senior police officers duly screened by the Senior Officers Placement Board (SOPB).
However, Domogan expressed disappointment over the frequent circumvention being done by the PNP leadership on the said provision wherein there had been an instance that an officer-in-charge served his near full term in BCPO without giving the chance to him to recommend the deserving police officer to serve in BCPO.
By Dexter A. See
