Oppus to CPPO: Be efficient

CEBU, Philippines - Police Senior Superintendent Louie Oppus, Deputy Regional Director for Operations, sets his policies and guidelines as the officer-in-charge of the Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO).

Oppus was appointed as the officer-in-charge after Senior Superintendent Erson Digal was relieved to the Police Regional Office 7.

“Don’t be afraid to commit mistakes in the performance of your duties, look at it as a source of challenge and opportunity, not as a problem. It is tolerable to commit honest mistakes but learn from those mistakes and improve next time,” he said.

Police Regional Office 7 Director Ager Ontog already submitted the list of personnel to be chosen by Cebu Provincial Governor Gwendolyn Garcia days after Digal submitted his resignation letter as the CPPO director.

The three are Senior Supt. Mariano Natuel, PRO 7 community relations head; Senior Supt. Patrocinio Comendador, Regional Investigation and Detective Management Division chief, and Supt. Ernesto Agas, Regional Operation and Plans Division chief.

Oppus assures all personnel under the CPPO that they will be given equal opportunity to prove their worth regardless of background and status in life. He said performance will be his criteria during the evaluation.

He also directed all chiefs of various units to be hands on instead of just directing from their desk on remote control basis.

“Do not show me that you are busy where in fact you are not. Do not even bring me a problem, unless you have at least one recommended solution. Be a problem solver, not a problem maker or messenger,” he said.

Oppus also clarifies that feedbacks and immediate corrections are instituted if the staff is on the scene as events happen since their mission affords them no room for mistake.

Meanwhile, Oppus suspects that the 11-year-old boy who claimed to have witnessed a child abducted by two men on a car last Monday in Talavera, Toledo City might just be fabricating a story.

His belief was supported by Toledo City Police Station chief, Chief Insp. Jovito Canlapan, that the child was not consistent with his statements when they asked him again.

Oppus said that right after the kidnapping of Ellah Joy Pique, the Toledo Police Station received five calls from residents about a child having been abducted.

“Puro gipang-verify, nagpadala ta og mga personnel, but it turned out wala’y nahitabong kidnapping kay wala’y bata nga gi-report na missing,” Oppus said. (We verified this but no child was reported missing.)

“Pa-iba-iba na iyang statement. Ang sigurado na lang ang sakyanan na nakit-ang nag-standby sa area where the abduction allegedly took place,” said Canlapan in a separate interview. (The statements were not consistent except for the vehicle seen at the place where the abduction allegedly took place.)

Canlapan said that two witnesses, an elderly woman and a barangay tanod, claimed they indeed saw a blue Toyota Innova car parking at the said area. The car, which looked black from afar, had no plate numbers. –(FREEMAN)