CAMP DANGWA, La Trinidad, Benguet – Veteran police investigators questioned the hasty decision of the leadership of the Police Regional Office (PRO) in the Cordillera in immediately reassigning a devoted traffic officer to Apayao for simply performing his official duties and responsibilities in reminding non-commissioned officers to be models in abiding with traffic rules and regulations, without the benefit of due process.
The sources, who handle the hearings of cases filed against non-commissioned and commissioned police officers regionwide, branded the transfer of SPO3 Alberto C. Tadeo of the Baguio City Police Office–Traffic Management Branch (BCPO-TMB) to Apayao as too grave compared to what he described as a simple breach of internal discipline when he issued alleged side comments against the driver and security escort of PRO-COR deputy regional director for administration Senior Superintendent Gregorio Lim which, in the first place, was just a reminder to them bringing Lim’s vehicle to the city’s number coding zone was a violation of the Baguio number coding scheme.
In relation to the statement of PRO-COR deputy regional director for operations Senior Superintendent Angelito Casimiro’s remarks that Tadeo is facing a case before the city’s Peoples’ Law Enforcement board (PLEB), the sources claimed that more so that he should not have been reassigned to an area 400 kilometers away from Baguio city to allow him to face his accusers during scheduled hearings and that his stay in Apayao will not help him do so, and his transfer seems intended to punish him for calling the attention of his subordinates to abide by the traffic rules and regulations and for higher authorities to be role models in complying with existing laws, rules and regulations.
According to him, Lim’s driver and security escort should also be meted the similar punishment because their offense in bringing a vehicle that violated the Baguio number coding scheme to the number coding zone is much graver compared to the offense committed by Tadeo and his side comments could have been triggered by name-dropping to evade apprehension.
The sources claimed Casimiro’s untimely remarks in claiming that the PNP commends policemen doing their job but does not condone misdemeanour among their ranks further opened the floodgates for more questions that can taint the integrity and credibility of the police force.
The sources also questioned why a regional police officer scrapped the good points for Tadeo in a report prepared by a division of the PRO-COR before it was transmitted to PNP chief Director-General Ronald dela Rosa which only shows that there is an attempt to cover-up what they claimed as misdemeanour among their ranks instead of boosting the morale of policemen doing their jobs.
Instead of continuously defending a wrong act of their subordinates, the sources challenged PRO-COR officials to swallow their pride, issue a public apology, impose a similar penalty to their erring driver and security aide, and start establishing a harmonious working relationship between local officials and the policed force before the situation seriously affects the image of the whole PNP organization with the public having a negative impression on the questionable decision-making of their top police officers.
By HENT