BAGUIO CITY – Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan wants the Philippine National Police (PNP) to submit to the local government the required shortlist of qualified senior police officers which will be subjected to a stringent screening by a committee that will be created for the purpose to determine the next City Director of the Baguio City Police Office (BCPO) in lieu of outgoing City Director Senior Superintendent Ramil L. Saculles.
Domogan lambasted the PNP leadership for repeatedly unceremoniously relieving BCPO City Directors, the latest of which was Saculles, without the benefit of proper consultation and coordination with the concerned local officials and in observance with the prescribed processes enshrined under existing laws, rules and regulations.
“We are all in government and we should be a model in adhering to the age-old proven principle of teamwork, coordination and consultation. We do not understand why the PNP repeatedly commits the same mistake of failing to properly coordinate and consult with local officials in the unceremonious relief of our city police chiefs, the latest victim of which was Senior Superintendent Saculles,” Domogan stressed.
Saculles turned over his post to Senior Superintendent Gerardo Omayao, former City Director of the Makati City Police Office who hails from Quezon, but in less than 24 hours, he was again reinstated to his position for still unknown reasons.
The local chief executive underscored that if the PNP wants to relieve whoever is the BCPO City Director, the shortlist of five qualifies senior police officers duly screened by the national headquarters must be submitted to his office wherein the said officers will be again screened by the committee that will be created for the purpose to ascertain who will be selected as the replacement of the incumbent City Director.
He explained that what he is questioning is the PNP’s system in unceremoniously reliving BCPO City Directors who are about to end their 2-year tour of duty and not the police official that is being chosen to take over the position of Saculles because of the presence of the prescribed process which must be strictly observed by the PNP leadership.
According to him, once the shortlist will be made available, the local screening board can screen the applicants within two days wherein the replacement of Saculles could be named so that a formal turnover of duties and responsibilities could also be done in fairness to the outgoing City Director.
He explained that under the law, an officer-in-charge of a local police station should only be allowed for a maximum period of 30 days but it seems the PNP is allegedly trying to circumvent the law by assigning police officers in an acting capacity which is being interpreted by many law enforcers as good as permanent in such positions which should not be the case.
Domogan claimed the unceremonious relief of BCPO City Directors had been happening since 1995 and local officials had been ventilating the matter to ranking PNP officials for them to correct such practice because it contributes in derailing the symbiotic relationship between the national and local governments considering that it is the local chief executive that is empowered to select the local chief of police from the shortlist of five qualified senior police officers that will be submitted to him by the PNP leadership.
By Dexter A. See
