MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police said it has relieved Police Col. Engelbert Soriano of his duties as the provincial director at the Cebu Police Provincial Office (CPPO) after over a year in the post.
In a statement, Police Col. Jean Fajardo — PNP spokesperson — said Soriano’s relief is “effective June 12, 2022.”
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"His relief is pursuant to the provisions of [the] PNP Memorandum Circular 2022-002, which states that [a] provincial director, city director, or [chief of police] of [the] National Capital Region Police Office shall be held by a [police colonel] for a continuous period of one year," Fajardo said on Tuesday.
“[This period is] extendible to a maximum of three months upon approval by the [Chief, PNP]. This is for career advancement and to give greater opportunity to other qualified third-level PCOs.”
Police Col. Elmer Lim of the Regional Logistics and Research Development Division for Central Visayas has been designated officer-in-charge of the Cebu Provincial Police Office.
Provincial police backs Cebu order on face masks
Soriano’s relief from duty comes days after he affirmed that the CPPO will be implementing the executive order of re-elected Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia that makes the use of face masks outdoors and in open spaces optional. The PNP did not say that the relief is related to his position on face masks.
Soriano then said that the order “remains the law as far as Cebu province is concerned… unless it is later on invalidated by proper authority.”
Malacañang on Tuesday emphasized that President Rodrigo Duterte himself said that the wearing of face masks is still mandatory.
The country’s Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra also said on Monday that the pandemic guidelines issued by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases should be followed instead of orders issued by the local government units.
Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said the Department of Interior and Local Governments also does not recognize the order issued by Garcia on optional face masks in Cebu.
Re-elected for a second term, Garcia won by a landslide in Cebu and is a known political ally of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. — Kaycee Valmonte with reports from Franco Luna, Kristine Joy Patag, and Gaea Katreena Cabico