Bulacan police chief axed; one-strike policy in place

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Raul Bacalzo has ordered the relief of the Bulacan police director amid investigation into the operations of a well-entrenched carjacking group in Central Luzon.

Bacalzo ordered the relief of Senior Superintendent Fernando Villanueva as Bulacan Provincial Police director last Saturday following the occurrence of high- profile criminal incidents in the province.

“Villanueva was administratively relieved pending investigations being conducted on several high-profile criminal incidents during his watch such as the involvement of a policeman with drugs, murder incidents as well as car thefts,” PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Agrimero Cruz Jr. said.

Senior Superintendent Wendy Rosario, the Central Luzon police deputy regional director for operations, replaced Villanueva.

Rosario served as deputy of Chief Superintendent Benito Estipona, Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) in Central Luzon.

Rosario led the raid at the apartment reportedly rented by the Dominguez group, which is being implicated in the murders of car traders Emerson Lozano, Venson Evangelista and Lozano’s co-employee Ernani Sensil.

The bodies, all with gunshot wounds in the head and burned, were recovered one after the other in the provinces of Pampanga, Nueva Ecija and Tarlac.

The group of Rosario raided an apartment in Pampanga and seized three handguns, bullets, handheld radio sets and batteries, 22 sets of car plates and metal plates with engraved chassis or body numbers.

This developed as Bacalzo warned police commanders they would be immediately relieved if they fail to act against criminal activities in their areas of jurisdiction.

“Higher police officials found negligent in containing the incidence of carnapping and carjacking will also be sacked by the PNP leadership,” Bacalzo said.

Bacalzo said the PNP would also relieve police commanders who fail to prevent carjacking in their assigned areas.

“The PNP will be relentless in its campaign against criminal syndicates engaged in carnapping and carjacking, particularly in Metro Manila and other urban centers,” Bacalzo added.

Bacalzo earlier ordered the immediate relief of Senior Superintendent Constantine Agpaoa of Quezon City Police District Station 10 after the Toyota Grandia van of Carl Balita, a radio host on dzMM was stolen in Timog area last Jan. 21.

Bacalzo also sacked Chief Inspector Alex Fulgar, a precinct commander in Makati City following the theft of a vehicle owned by a cousin of former senator Mar Roxas.

Bacalzo said the relief of commanders of police stations and community precincts would depend on recommendations of their superiors.

Bacalzo’s move followed the brutal killing Lozano, Evangelista and Sensil.

The burned body of Lozano was found in Porac, Pampanga last Jan. 14 and Sensil’s charred body was located in La Paz, Tarlac a day earlier.

Evangelista’s body was recovered in Cabanatuan City in Nueva Ecija last Jan. 14.

Bacalzo stressed the “one-strike policy” on erring policemen also applies on their failure to prevent other crimes occurring in their jurisdiction.

Last week, Antipolo City police chief Superintendent Manuel Pion was relieved from his post for failure to prevent jueteng in the city.

Cruz said the PNP, particularly the Highway Patrol Group, has been focused against car thieves, particularly after it was found that Dominguez faced a total of 42 car theft cases since last year.

“This has been one of the directives of the PNP chief Bacalzo immediately after taking over the PNP leadership,” Cruz added.