5 recommended as Cebu City police chief

CEBU CITY — Regional police director Avelino Razon Jr. has come up with five recommendees from whom acting Mayor Michael Rama will choose the city’s new police chief.

In a letter to Rama, Razon said the members of the Senior Officers Placement and Promotion Board at Camp Crame were the ones who decided on the nominees.

The nominees are Visayas Drug Enforcement and Prevention chief Carlito Dimaano, regional police personnel division chief Nievo Rodriguez, Mandaue City deputy police chief Edgardo Montenegro, Regional Mobile Group chief Eduardo Catabas, and Negros Occidental police director Geary Barias. All are senior superintendents.

Dimaano served as intelligence officer of the Cebu Metro District Command in the early 90s, while Rodriguez once headed the Security Service Group of the regional police.

Barias was the Cebu provincial police commander in the 80s. He is the only Philippine Military Academy graduate among the nominees.

If Rama cannot pick someone from the list within 10 days, the Philippine National Police (PNP) chief will have to make the selection.

Superintendent Josephus Angan is currently the officer-in-charge (OIC) of the city police, replacing Senior Superintendent Lani-o Nerez who was relieved last month for his failure to curb the spate of robberies here.

The National Police Commission has mandated that the term of an OIC shall not exceed 30 days.

Section 63 of Republic Act 8551 gives a local chief executive the authority to choose the head of his locality’s police from the PNP’s five nominees. He also has the power to recommend the recall or reassignment of the police chief. — Freeman News Service