Acting CCPO chief: We no longer have control of relieved police escorts of slain Clarin mayor
Police Colonel Geovanie Maines, holds a press briefing on Tuesday afternoon, November 12, 2019, in Camp Sotero Cabahug along Gorordo Avenue, Cebu City. | Alven Marie A. Timtim
CEBU CITY, Philippines — “We are no longer in control of them.”
Police Colonel Geovanie Maines, Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) officer-in-charge, said this about the police escorts of slain Clarin, Misamis Occidental Mayor David Navarro, who were issued subpoenas by the Commission on Human Rights in Central Visayas (CHR-7) to participate in their investigation, but they rejected the invitation and waived their right to appear before the commission.
Maines said during a press briefing on November 12 that they could no longer demand the officers to cooperate with the CHR because since their relief from their posts, they were now under the jurisdiction of the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7).
Read more: Cebu police chief relieved to turn over Navarro case to NBI
He said that their office was not informed about the subpoenas issued by CHR-7 addressed to the officers.
Had CCPO been informed about the subpoenas, Maines said they could have given an advice to the officers.
Read more: NBI-7 to begin probe on Navarro’s death
According to Maines, maybe the officers were coordinating with the National Bureau of Investigation Central Visayas Regional Office (NBI-CEVRO), who was the agency assigned by President Rodrigo Duterte to conduct the Navarro investigation.
These police officers who were then assigned in Abellana police station under the CCPO, were also the escorts of Navarro when he was ambushed and killed along M. Velez Street, Barangay Guadalupe, Cebu City, last October 25.
Read more: Clarin Mayor David Navarro shot dead in Cebu City
On November 5, the CHR-7 sent subpoenas to these officers inviting them to appear in the office to give their side of the story on the incident.
However, CHR-7 received a letter reply from the officers on Monday morning, November 11, saying they have the discretion not to submit the documents especially when it could disrupt the ongoing investigation conducted by the NBI./dbs
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