Still no provincial director at Pangasinan PNP
THE police in Pangasinan has been without a provincial director, a permanent commanding officer, for three weeks now.
Members of the provincial board are enraged by the situation and are considering taking “drastic action”, including bringing the matter to President Benigno Aquino III.
“Imagine a first class province with almost three million population yet it has no provincial police director,” said Sixth District Board Member Alfonso Bince Jr., adding that “this should go to the Guinness Book of Records”.
The SP, he said, plans to submit a joint petition with the provincial Pangasinan Mayor’s League, Philippine Councilors League, and the Liga ng mga Barangay addressed to the President to look into the matter.
Bince lamented that the SP has not received any response to its resolutions pertaining to the designation of provincial police from either the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) led by Secretary Mar Roxas, National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM), and the Philippine National Police (PNP) national office led by Gen. Allan Purisima, who once served as police chief of Pangasinan.
The last police chief, Senior Superintendent Marlou Chan, whose tenure was controversial, left his post December 17 after being re-assigned as chief regional directorial staff at the Police Region 1 office.
Bince said allowing a vacuum in the police leadership is a disservice to the province, noting that the police director serves as the governor’s vice chairman in the implementation of the Public Safety Plan.
Even Gov. Amado Espino Jr., who was also province’s former police chief, said he, too, is in the dark on designations in the province’s PNP hierarchy.
Espino earlier filed a case in court to question the legality of the designation of Chan.
Meanwhile, the SP members agreed to invite whoever is currently in charge at the Pangasinan Provincial Police Office (PPO) for an inquiry.
Currently, the highest officer at the PPO is Senior Inspector Ryan Manongdo.
HIGH MORALE
Manongdo said the morale of the members of the force remains high and their commitment to their responsibilities remains firm.
“We cannot compromise the safety and security of the people over the absence of an officer-in-charge in the province,” he said.
Manongdo said the provincial office is continuing the implementation of the plans and programs introduced by Chan such as the Patrol 101 and Integrated Patrolling System.
Manongdo also clarified that the reported “drastic increase” in the number of crimes committed last 2013” was simply due to the new system of reporting being used.
He said this time all crimes recorded in the 1,364 barangays were counted in 2013, unlike in previous years where only those reported by the police stations in the 44 municipalities and 4 cities were included.
“The new figures were not arrived at for comparison purposes but for us to come up with realistic approach to the situation in the province,” he said.
Robbery topped the petty crimes documented.–Johanne R. Macob,Tita roces, and Dada Austria
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