Police Colonel Geovanie Maines
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Police Colonel Geovanie Maines, the outgoing officer-in-charge (OIC) of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), assured that the appointment of the new city police chief won’t affect their security preparations for the Sinulog Festival in January 2020.
Maines said he will still be supervising the preparations for the Sinulog activities even as Police Colonel Engelbert Soriano has assumed as new the OIC of the CCPO today, Friday, December 27, 2019.
Maines said he will be going back to his position as the deputy regional director for operations of the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) but will remain as the task force commander in the security measures for the Sinulog celebration that will culminate in a mardi gras-like grand parade on January 19, 2020.
“May say pa rin ako dyan, ako pa rin ang task force commander,” said Maines.
(I still have a say regarding the preparation as I am still the task force commander.)
Soriano was a former director of the Aurora Provincial Police Office in Central Luzon and a former chief of the PRO-7 Plans and Operations Management Division before he was appointed to the CCPO post.
Read more: Soriano is new Cebu City Police Office chief
As Soriano seat as the new OIC, Maines said former chief Police Colonel Gemma Vinluan, who was relieved last October 31 to pave way for a fair investigation of the killing of Clarin town Mayor David Navarro, would not be able to come back as the city director.
He said Vinluan was already assigned in Camp Crame in Quezon City where a different position was offered to her by the Philippine National Police (PNP) OIC chief, Lieutenant General Archie Gamboa.
Read more: De Leon places Vinluan on ‘floating status’
According to Maines, Soriano won’t have a hard time with the meetings involving the Sinulog preparations as they have already established almost all the necessary measures needed.
Maines also assured that the Soriano will not find it hard as well when it comes to adjusting as the new chief as the officers of the CCPO are hard working./elb