Bohol gov, mayors oppose transfer of 375 cops to Negros Oriental

Map of Bohol | Photo by INQUIRER.net

MANDAUE CITY, Cebu — Bohol Governor Erico Aris Aumentado is unhappy with the planned transfer of over 300 policemen from their island province to Negros Oriental to replace policemen there who were recently relieved from their current positions.

Aumentado said he shared the sentiments of Bohol mayors, whose respective police forces would also be affected by the planned transfer.

The Bohol governor was also against the order, saying that he and the other governors in Central Visayas were not consulted on the matter.

“Actually nahikurat pud mi noh…In fact kami mga governor sa Region 7, wa gyud mi giinform, wa gyuy formal invitation. Ang mga PD nalay nagpahibaw namo nga naay mga allocation per province nga tagaan og reassignment sa Negros,” he said in a statement.

(Actually, we were suprised by this…In fact, we the governors of Region 7, we were not informed, we were not given a formal invitation. The PD only informed us that their is already an allocation per province that will be given a reassignment to Negros.)

“So karun, kaming mga governor sa Region 7, mura nafeel naoffended. Ngano dili man mi iinform sa high ups sa PNP nga maoy ilang plano. Atong nakita sa akong parte, ngano kita man murag nanubag sa sitwasyin sa kasamok sa Negros,” said Aumentado who is also the chairperson of the Regional Development Council in Central Visayas (RDC-7).

(So now, we the governors of Region 7, we felt offended. Why did the higher ups of PNP not inform us of their plans. We saw this in our part, why are we answering for the situation of trouble in Negros.)

Lt. Col.  Norman Nuez of the Bohol Provincial Police Office (BPPO) had informed the governor that a total of 375 policemen, who were assigned to the different police stations in their province, were set for reassignment to Negros Oriental.  They will be “swapped” or replaced by policemen who were earlier relieved from their posts in Negros Oriental.

Governor Aumentado called for an emergency meeting, that was held at the session hall of the new Capitol building in Tagbilaran City, with Nuez and the mayors from the province’s lone city and 47 towns on Wednesday, March 8, to discuss the matter.

During the meeting, mayors expressed their opposition to the planned “swapping” by the Philippine National Police (PNP) as they vowed to make an appeal to prevent its implementation.

In its statement, the provincial government said that the mayors had expressed fear on how this would affect the ongoing implementation of peace and order programs in their respective localities, especially the ‘KASIMBAYANAN’.

They also wanted to keep their existing police force, which the mayors think would be crucial to their campaign against the entry of the African Swine Fever (ASF) because of their familiarity with their current assignments.

During the meeting, Tubigon Mayor William Jao said that they only had 30 policemen, which were not even enough to protect their town.

Their assignments include providing security at the Tubigon Port. 

These policemen were trained for K9 handling, he added.

Mayor Arturo Piollo of Lila town asked the mayors, who came to the meeting, to make a common stand to oppose the PNP’s plan.  At the same time, they wanted to make an appeal against its implementation.

He said that the move would especially affect the initiative of the local police in the fight against illegal drugs.

Mayor Piollo’s motion was approved en masse.

After the meeting, Aumentado called PRO-7 Chief Beares on the phone to relay the mayors’ sentiments and to ask for reconsideration.

“Kung wala silay trust and confidence sa maong kapulisan sa Negros samot na kita wala tay pagsalig sa mga pulis kay ilang mga pulis didto iassign sab diri sa atong probinsya murag swapping,” Aumentado said in a statement.

(If they have no trust and confidence of the policemen of Negros, then much more for us, we won’t have trust on those policemen who would be assigned in our province like through swapping (positions).)

Aumentado said he told Beares during their talk that instead of swapping, they should consider sending some Bohol police to Negros Oriental for “augmentation.”

“Karun ming-apelar ta basin puwede ra og augmentation. Dili ingana kadaghanun ilabina kay naa tay ASF giatubang,  giprotektahan atong Bohol.  Nagkinahanglan ta sa kapulisan gawas pa naay ASEAN umaabot sa atong probinsya nga kinahanglanun ang security,” he said.

(We appeal to them perhaps this can just be an augmentation. Not that many especially we are facing ASF, we are protecting Bohol. We need the police and not only that we also have an upcoming Asean (meeting) in our province that will need a lot of security.)

“Ikaduha, ang atong insurgency ug uban pa angay bantayan nato tungod kay atong SAO commando sa Candijay gi-pull out na. Ang AFP skeletal na pud. Kung ipull out ang mga pulis samot kaluag ang seguridad sa probinsya sa Bohol.,” the governor added.

(Second, our insurgency and other things that needed to be watched because our SAO commando in Candijay has already been pulled out. The AFP has also a skeletal force. If we pull out the police then this will worsen the laxity of security in the province of Bohol.)

According to Aumentado, General Bearis had assured him that he would relay their concerns to PNP Chief Rodolfo Azurin the soonest possible time.

Earlier, Interior and Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos issued a ‘replacement oder’ for all the policemen in Bayawan City and the rest of Negros Oriental.

The replacement order was issued following the slay of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo and eight civilians on March 4.

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