New PNP chief’s fate known Feb. 7...

He has three more days to pray.

Interior and Local Government Secretary Joey Lina vowed to make his decision known on Wednesday, whether to retain Philippine National Police chief Deputy Director Leandro Mendoza in his post.

"By Wednesday, I will submit my recommendation to President Arroyo, the result of fact-finding work assigned to me," he told reporters in an interview at the San Lazaro Fire Station in Manila.

"We would be very objective, fair, reasonable and we will base our recommendation on the facts that we were able to gather," the DILG chief assured.

President Arroyo ordered Lina to look into the complaints of leaders of two anti-crime watchdog groups against Mendoza, who was once linked but was cleared of allegations that he was involved in kidnap-for-ransom activities.

The Citizens Action Against Crime and the Crusade Against Violence have been very vocal in their opposition to Mendoza’s appointment, whom they described to have been "tainted with credibility from day one of his designation."

In the past, members of the Filipino-Chinese community refused to report cases of kidnappings of their relatives for fear of police involvement.

But the relationship between the police and kidnap victims improved with the creation in 1992 of the PACC and the PAOCTF against these syndicates.

CAAC and CAV expressed fears of possible resurgence of kidnappings with the designation of Mendoza.

But Lina stressed that Mendoza was appointed by President Arroyo and its up to the Chief Executive to decide his fate.