BAGUIO CITY—Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan challenged the leadership of the Philippine National Police to get serious with appointing a permanent police chief for this city instead of appointing officers-in-charge who stay beyond the 30-day rule provided by Republic Act 6975 or the Local Government Code.
Domogan said the PNP was blatantly circumventing RA 6975, which says a policeman can only remain as officer-in-charge of a police district for a month before he is replaced or permanently appointed as a town or city’s chief of police.
The PNP leadership, Domogan said, “tended to put in place overstaying officers-in-charge without limit to suit the personal and professional interests of the ranking police officials wanting their chosen police officers to occupy sensitive positions.”
“We are dismayed because the organization that is supposed to uphold the law is the very first that blatantly violates the same law that provides the limit for the assignment of an officer-in-charge in a police office, thus, it could be the primary reason why people distrust the PNP because of the obvious patronage politics in the organization,” the mayor stressed.
The PNP should submit to his office a shortlist of qualified senior police officers, Domogan said, so the city could organize a screening committee to select a replacement for Senior Superintendent George D. Daskeo.
Daskeo was unceremoniously relieved as city director of the Baguio City Police Office last September 30 for the “flimsy reason” that he was already “overranked” for the position, Domogan said.
The mayor said the PNP had a habit of yanking police chiefs, citing Senior Superintendent Jesus Cambay, who was also relieved as BCPO director and replaced with officer-in-charge Senior Superintendent Rolando Miranda, who occupied Cambay’s position for nearly two years.
The BCPO needs a permanent head because local officials would be able to work closely with the police chief in crafting long-term peacekeeping and anti-crime interventions that will sustain the peace and order in the city, Domogan said.
A permanent police chief would also help gain the confidence of foreign and domestic tourists to visit Baguio and keep it as a prime tourist destination, he added.