CEBU CITY – Bohol Gov. Aris Aumentado is not in favor of reassigning 375 policemen in the province to Negros Oriental to replace those relieved over the killing of Gov. Roel Degamo.
Aumentado held an emergency meeting with mayors in the province after he was informed of the move to swap police officers.
Lt. Col. Norman Nuez, operations head of the Bohol Provincial Police Office (BPPO), informed the governor of the plan to replace police personnel in the province with policemen relieved from Negros Oriental.
According to Nuez, 1,709 policemen from Negros Oriental will be reassigned to different police units in the Police Regional Office-7 (Central Visayas).
In the meeting, the mayors agreed that they will appeal the plan as it will affect their police programs.
Bohol is currently battling the spread of African Swine Fever and having Boholano policemen is necessary as they are more familiar with the province, the local chief executives said.
Tubigon Mayor William Jao said the town’s 30 policemen are not enough and there is still a need to deploy more police officers in the municipality’s port to man the K9 team.
Lila Mayor Arturo Piollo urged his fellow mayors to come up with a common stand and submit their appeal to higher ups in the Philippine National Police.
Piollo added that removing the current police force will also affect the campaign against illegal drugs.
Aumentado relayed the sentiments of the mayors to Brig. Gen. Jerry Bearis, chief of the Police Regional Office-Central Visayas.
“Actually, we were also shocked. In fact, all of us governors in Region 7 were not informed. There was no formal invitation. It was only the provincial director who informed us that there will be an allocation per province that some of our policemen will be reassigned to Negros,” said Aumentado.
Interior and Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos ordered that all policemen in Bayawan City and Negros Oriental be replaced a few days after Degamo was killed in his home in Pamplona, Negros Oriental while serving his constituents on Saturday, March 4.