By IVY TEJANO
DAVAO CITY – Former President Rodrigo Duterte is puzzled over three Davao City Police Office chiefs who were appointed and removed within a day on Wednesday, July 10.
DUTERTE (PDP-Laban FB)
“Nalilito ako (I am confused),” Duterte said in his short video message posted on TikTok with over 8,000 likes and 787 comments as of posting time when asked about the recent reshuffle at DCPO.
Police Col. Lito Patay was appointed as the new DCPO head, succeeding officer-in-charge Police Col. Rolindo Suguilon. Patay was replaced by Police Col. Sherwin Butil hours after he assumed office. Butil had barely warmed his seat when the Police Regional Office-11 said he has been replaced by Police Col. Hansel Marantan.
Davao City Mayor Sebastian Z. Duterte also echoed the same sentiment on the abrupt changes in the DCPO and the Philippine National Police (PNP) overall.
In his interaction with Davao media on Friday evening posted on social media, Mayor Duterte disclosed that Marantan and PRO-11 Director Police Brig. Gen. Nicolas Torre have a controversial history.
“Whatever happens here, I would not be surprised. There are a lot of extraordinary movements happening within the PNP here in the region and in the city,” Mayor Duterte said in a local dialect.
He said the PNP informed him of Patay’s replacement but not of the sudden changes. He added that he was not consulted about Butil and did not know about Marantan.
Mayor Duterte said he should be informed about the reorganization and appointment of the new city police director. He added that he was confused over the PNP’s process in reshuffling officers.
He said that the extensive reassignment of the head of the DCPO, the Special Operations Group, and the station commanders would impact this city’s peace and security.
Mayor Duterte added that Torre’s perception and conclusion about the peace and order situation here is unusual as he has only been assigned to the PRO-11 office for less than a month.
PNP spokesperson Police Col. Jean Fajardo said that Torre deemed it essential to appoint new officers following an assessment of the DCPO’s performance.
Fajardo said Patay’s designation as DCPO director was temporary as Torre needed to remove Suguilon, the deputy director for regional operations and OIC of the DCPO.
When the senior officers’ placement and promotion board met, Fajardo said they found it necessary to appoint someone permanently, leading to the selection of Marantan.