BAGUIO CITY – Mauricio G. Domogan slammed the leadership of the Philippine National Police (PNP) in the Cordillera for the untimely relief of the City Director of the Baguio City Police Office (BCPO) without the appropriate courtesy and coordination with concerned local officials, saying that such system must already stop or else local governments will cut off their support to the PNP if they continue to be disregarded in such instances.
The local chief executive claimed the sudden relief of BCPO City Director Senior Superintendent George D. Daskeo without just cause and appropriate consultation with concerned local officials only shows how PNP officials belittle the authority of local executives who are mandated to appoint the local chief police.
“We demand respect from our senior police officers and consultations with local chief executives must first be done before they willfully relieving our police chief. If they do not accord us the respect, then PNP officials should already stop lobbying from local governments to allocate funds for the operational expenses of the local police force and the PNP should already shoulder such expenses so that they can claim full authority over their officers,” Domogan stressed.
He pointed out he even went to the extent of requesting the PNP officials to defer the relief of the BCPO chief until such time that the national headquarters will submit to him the shortlist of five qualified senior officers from which the local screening committee will select the next BCPO chief.
According to him, Daskeo, who only served for three months as permanent BCPO chief, passed through the rigid screening process before he was voted by the members of the committee to assume the permanent position of City Director.
Domogan revealed the local government waited for two years before the shortlist of qualified senior officers was transmitted to him which only shows the deliberate acts of some senior police officials to delay the issuance and release of the shortlist that allow a police official to serve as BCPO officer-in-charge for nearly two years.
He said there is nothing wrong if the relieved BCPO official will be promoted but the PNP must adhere to the process that an officer-in-charge should only serve a maximum of 30 days and it is the obligation of the PNP to submit to him the shortlist so that he could convene the screening committee for the selection of the next BCPO chief.
Domogan asserted the PNP must start shouldering the operational expenses of the police force so it can dictate who to assign in the different areas and local governments can use the funds they are proving as assistance to the local police force for other projects beneficial to the people.
Instead of treating local governments as their partners in peacekeeping efforts, Domogan said the PNP seems to be insensitive to the fact that people always blame local officials when the peace and order situation in their areas of jurisdiction is not good, thus, local governments are doing their best to help the PNP; however, if the PNP leadership does not recognize such fact, then it must start providing the needs of the police force and let local governments use their available funds for better and more impactful projects./By Dexter A. See