Acting Cebu City mayor recommends Cañete as city police director

Police Colonel Antonietto Cañete, acting city director of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) | CDN Photo/ Emmariel Ares

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Police Colonel Antonietto Cañete has earned the trust of acting Cebu City Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia to lead the police here.

On Monday, Garcia said he already signed the recommendation letter from his office recommending Cañete as the director of Cebu City Police Office (CCPO).

Cañete was appointed last July 26 and replaced Police Colonel Ireneo Dalogdog, who served as the head of CCPO from October 1, 2022, to July 25, 2024.

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Garcia said he was “very satisfied” with Cañete’s performance, especially the latter’s promptness in taking action to the crimes here in the city and for being able to execute his orders which is the police visibility.

Part of this police visibility was being able to utilize the eight patrol cars the City Government had turned over to the police.

“And then katong sa robbery sa downtown, I ordered him that I want to see results, and then cases will be filed, and then these cases are airtight and naa gyuy ebidensya, and he was able to do it as well,” Garcia said.

(And then the robbery in downtown, I ordered him that I want to see results, and the the cases will be filed, and then these cases are airtight and there are really evidence, and he was able to do it well.)

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Crimes cannot always be prevented in Cebu City, hence it is important to address the matter immediately and Cañete was prompt enough to handle it.

“Sa akong pagtan-aw sa mga crimes (The way I look at the crimes), a lot of them are really drug-related. So, we can look into a more serious and more aggressive approach towards the drug issue here in the City of Cebu,” Garcia said.

Cañete mentioned in previous reports that he did not apply for CCPO director. It was the Philippine National Police (PNP) that noticed his “silent and diligent” work, which led to his assignment as the acting police director.

“I am given the opportunity. What’s paramount for me is to serve the people, and people will see na maganda ang ginagawa ko (that what I did was good) and that I deserve to be the city director. Yan ang important sa akin (that is what is important to me),” he said.

Cañete is a lawyer and a native of Bantayan town in northern Cebu. | with reports from Emmariel Ares and Pia Piquero