Cebu Province to welcome new police director

Cebu and Negros Oriental have new provincial police directors.

Officials of the Philippine National Police in Camp Crame have appointed Senior Supt. Manuel Abrugena as the new head of the Cebu Provincial Police Office (CCPO), while Senior Supt. Raul Tacaca was chosen to lead the Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office.

Abrugena and Tacaca replaced Senior Supt. Edgar Alan Okubo and Senior Supt. Edwin Portento who were set to be given new assignments by the PNP.

The revamp took effect last Tuesday.

Chief Supt. Robert Quenery, director of the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7), said the move was part of the nationwide reshuffling of provincial and city police directors after new PNP chief Director General Oscar Albayalde assumed his post last month.

No specific reasons were given.

“It’s not only Central Visayas but also other regions which were affected by the revamp. It was the decision of the PNP Oversight Committee,” Quenery told scribes in an interview at his office on Wednesday.

“These two police directors (Okubo and Portento) were fine but may be the Oversight Committee has other standards,” he added.

Albayalde earlier said he would first form an oversight committee to review the organizational composition of the PNP and evaluate whether key officials need to be reshuffled.

Since the revamp happened barely a week before the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections on May 14, Quenery advised the new provincial police directors to study and analyze the prevalent situations in their respective areas.

“They have three days to internalize and make the necessary adjustments. I’m excited to meet them,” he said /Glazelle Bless Viter, Intern