Sonny O. wants cop chief transferred, eyes Dumpit

Toledo City Mayor John Henry “Sonny” Osmeña is considering borrowing SPO1 Adonis Dumpit from Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña to solve the drug problems in Toledo City.

Osmeña said in a press briefing yesterday that he would want to borrow Dumpit even for just three months.

Osmeña said this as he also called for the relief of three police officers of the Toledo police force and an investigation on the possible links of the city’s police chief to the former top suspected drug lord of Cebu province, Alvaro “Barok” Alvaro.

Osmeña said he would like PRO-7 chief, Chief Supt. Noli Taliño, to replace acting Toledo police chief, Chief Insp. Fructuoso Lim, with another police official whom he could trust and work with.

He said he would want a police official like Dumpit or a retired military official like former Army general Jovito Palparan to take over.

“Kanang police nga dili mahadlok mopatay. (A police official who is not afraid to kill.) Somebody in the mold of Dumpit or Palparan,” he said.

Osmeña said he wanted Lim investigated because Lim had been formerly assigned in Danao City, which was Alvaro’s hometown.

Lim assumed as acting Toledo police chief on May 7, a few days before the elections.

Osmeña claimed that Lim had failed to implement the Philippine National Police’s Oplan Tokhang (toktok hangyo), where police would visit suspected drug personalities and ask them to stop their illegal activities or face the consequences later.

He asked what drug personality would surrender if his police chief might have possible links with Barok?

Osmeña, however, said that he had no proof to back his allegations, but he still would want Taliño to look into them.

Lim, for his part, said he did not know what the mayor was talking about.

“My conscience is clean. In a span of three months, during my stay in Danao, we have apprehended 84 drug personalities. It’s a matter of record,” said Lim.

Lim also said in a phone interview that four persons had already surrendered to them yesterday when they conducted Oplan Tokhang.

He said since he assumed his post, he already arrested 13 persons linked to drugs.

“If the mayor wants me to be relieved, and that is the decision he wants, then he has the right to do that,” said Lim.

Aside from Lim, Osmeña said he would want Senior Insp. Rico Emperwa, Toledo City deputy chief of police, and Supt. Samuel Mina of the Toledo police force, to also be relieved.

Emperwa said in a phone interview that he would accept any order for his relief since transfer to a new assignment is part of their job.