No recommendation yet for CCPO director

CEBU, Philippines — Cebu City Acting Mayor Raymond Garcia s recommendation for the new official chief of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) will depend on how the peace and order in the city will be maintained.

Garcia shared that he has initially spoken with CCPO acting chief Police Colonel Antonieto Ca ete, and has stressed on his requirement to heighten security measures in the city.

Ca ete replaced CCPO director Police Colonel Ireneo Dalogdog who relinquished his post a week ago.

According to Republic Act 6975, the city or town mayor has authority to choose the chief of police and Garcia disclosed that he actually submitted five names to the Philippine National Police (PNP) headquarters, but it's still for OIC position.

"Mao ng wala gyud nako pa gi-recommend for permanent position si Colonel Ca ete because kay dapat we have to choose the right personnel here, (for) our peace and order here in our city of Cebu," he stressed.

Garcia cited three separate shooting incidents in Cebu City last Friday, August 2, 2024 that killed two individuals while two others were injured.

The police said that the incidents were believed to be related to illegal drugs, which Garcia has stressed should be addressed immediately.

Garcia said he can t say he is dismayed over the recent incidents as he has yet to sit down with the CCPO to fully discuss the current peace and order situation of Cebu City.

On the other hand, Garcia noted recent successful efforts of authorities to combat crime, including the dismantling of an alleged "shabu tiangge", or a small flea market selling drugs, by operatives of the National Bureau of Investigation Central Visayas Regional Office (NBI-CEVRO) at Barangay San Roque Cebu City.

In the shabu tiangge, a senior citizen was arrested by NBI-7 after fronting that he was selling different kinds of food, but had with him 24 sachets of suspected shabu.

 I commend them (NBI) for their efforts and for their operations, I hope nga magpadayon pa gyud na as we are very serious with our fight against criminality," said Garcia.

The acting mayor also noted the efforts of the police during the city s week-long hosting of the Palarong Pambansa 2024, which Garcia said showed the efforts to combat crime.

Just before the opening of the Palaro, the Cebu City government turned over police cars, firearms, and ammunition to the CCPO as a demonstration of the city's support to the local police.

"So there is no reason that they cannot fight criminalities," said Garcia.

With the five names he recommended for CCPO chief, Garcia said he is still awaiting the final decision.

These five names, according to him, include those who personally approached him and those recommended to him. He, however, said he didn't have a personal choice as he still had to look at the track records. He added that Ca ete was among the five names he recommended.