Senior Superintendent Karib Sasapan Muamil, Zamboanga del Sur police director, said the mass relief took effect last Tuesday after Chief Superintendent Prospero Noble, Western Mindanao police director, approved his recommendation.
Members of the Regional Mobile Group (RMG), headed by Superintendent Edwin Soledad, temporarily replaced the relieved policemen.
Noble directed Muamil to take drastic action against the Pagadian City policemen who were found to have been malingering and remiss in their duties.
Muamil said the order would also affect policemen in at least 26 police stations in Zamboanga del Sur.
"The policemen seem to have forgotten their mission and responsibilities, while others were monitored to have been so attached to politicians," he said.
Noble’s order came amid heightened security in Western Mindanao following the twin explosions that rocked this southern port city, wounding at least 30 people, last week.
Pagadian City has also been rocked by bombings in the past years blamed on groups extorting money from bus operators and other businessmen.
Noble vowed to put in place maximum security measures across the region to preempt such atrocities.