The removal of police commanders in 19 Davao City stations was due to “discrepancies in terms of the crime statistics,” Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesperson Police Colonel Jean Fajardo said on Tuesday.
Police Brigadier General Nicolas Torre III, Regional Police Director of Davao, ordered the said relief and transfer of the Davao PNP officials on July 8 without an immediate explanation.
The PNP spokesperson did not expound on the supposed “discrepancies” but said that BGen. Torre’s intent was “to improve the delivery of police service and restore the trust of the people.”
“He said his decision was part of his sole prerogative as regional director and his intent was to further improve the delivery of public service to the people of Davao,” Fajardo said.
The sudden move of the Police Regional Office-Davao (PRO-11) to relieve the 19 police station commanders in the city did not sit well with the city’s local chief executive.
In a statement, Mayor Sebastian Duterte said the mass relief of PNP Davao’s personnel “undermines the hard work not only of these police officials but also of every police personnel who is truthfully fulfilling their mandate, that instead of being recognized, are being relieved and questioned.”
“PBGen Torre’s perception and conclusion on the peace and order situation of Davao City a few days after he set foot in the city is rather fascinating given that he has only been assigned in PRO XI in less than a month,” Duterte said.
The mayor argued that if the police officers in Davao City were perceived to be ineffective in their duties, the Davao City Police Office should not have been recognized consistently as the top performing police office in the region.
Meanwhile, Davao City Police Office DCPO Chief, Police Colonel Lito Patay assumed office at around 8 in the morning on June 10, but a call from the PNP Headquarters in Camp Crame, Quezon City, at approximately 12:38 in the afternoon abruptly ended his tenure as Davao City police chief.
This unexpected call relieved him from his post as the City Director, marking one of the shortest terms in the city’s history.
Colonel Patay’s tour of duty was exceptionally brief, lasting only 4 hours and 38 minutes.
The sudden recall by the higher ups of Colonel Patay led to the designation of Police Colonel Sherwin Butil as the Officer-in-Charge (OIC) City Director of Davao City.
Police Colonel Butil, who previously headed the Regional Information and Technology Division, took over to ensure there was no vacuum in leadership.
In this reshuffle, the former DCPO Director, who previously held the R-3 post, assumed Col. Butil’s former position, while Col. Lito Patay will fill the vacated R-3 post.
Butil immediately assumed his new role as OIC police director of Davao City, with no formal turnover ceremony required; only an assumption order was necessary.
