BAGUIO CITY – Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan underscored the absence of a consultation done by the leadership of the Philippine National Police (PNP) before the unceremonious relief of the former chief of the Baguio city Police Office (BCPO) contrary to the claim of some police officials that the local chief executive was consulted relative to the said issue.
While it is true that Chief Superintendent Elmo Francis Sarona, PRO-COR Regional Director, visited his office on the afternoon of September 30, Domogan said the police official just informed him of the decision to relieve Senior Superintendent George D. Daskeo amidst his appeal to hold in abeyance the said relief pending the submission of the shortlist of qualified senior officers from where the local screening committee will select Daskeo’s replacement.
“There was no real and sincere consultation that was done before the PNP implemented the relief order. Asking permission for the replacement of our police chief is totally different from consultation because there has to be a two-way process before a decision is made,”Domogan stressed.
He added that he even proposed to the PRO-COR chief to keep the status quo in the BCPO until the PNP submits to his office the shortlist of qualified senior police but his request was moot and academic as Daskeo’s replacement was already en route to the city when the police official visited his office, thus, there was obvious deceit in this case.
He emphasized the importance of having a permanent BCPO chief who can effectively and efficiently work with local officials in implementing short, medium and long-term peacekeeping and anti-criminality strategies to maintain law and order in the city.
He claimed that those who sit as officer-in-charge, acting capacity or whatever term they want to use, will not be effective in discharging their duties and responsibilities for fear unceremonious and sudden relief anytime that their boss wants to replace him.
According to him, the PNP leadership should remember that the local government is their partner because local officials guarantee additional funding to sustain their peace and order operations, thus, local officials should at least be accorded the appropriate respect, and if the police do not respect the personality in the position, then they must accord due respect to the position.
Domogan also proposed to the police officer the non-assignment of outsiders in the BCPO in lieu of Daskeo but instead allow the next highest official in the hierarchy of leadership to act as officer-in-charge while waiting for the shortlist. However, his proposals seem to have been disregarded, thus, the claim that there was consultation prior to the unceremonious relief of Daskeo is obviously false./By Dexter A. See
