POLICE Regional Office-Davao Region (PRO-Davao) clarified that the recent reshuffling of their police personnel to other posts outside Mindanao is not “politically motivated” amid the move’s timing with the ongoing political feud between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his allies and the Duterte family.
PRO-Davao spokesperson Major Catherine Dela Rey told VoxPop Davao in an exclusive interview on Wednesday, November 27, 2024 that the reassignment of the 65 commissioned and non-commissioned police officers from their office was normal and has been part of the “internal affairs” set by the Philippine National Police (PNP) central headquarters.
On the same day, Dela Rey also addressed the same concern during the Davao Peace and Security Press Corps (DPSPC) briefing that the transfer of the police officers to various regional units in the country on November 25 was originally ordered in August this year but was delayed due to some technicalities.
“Dili to siya in any way related sa pulitika, kay earlier pa, naa nay request ang Police Regional Office 11 to transfer those personnel sa Camp Crame, pero wala to siya na-approve. So na-process, after sa process na-implement. Na-timing lang jud na at the height of issues, political issues nga nigawas ang implementation, effective November 25,” she said.
(It was in no way related to politics because, earlier on, the Police Regional Office 11 had already requested to transfer those personnel to Camp Crame, but it was not approved at that time. The process was eventually completed, and after that, it was implemented. It just happened to coincide with the height of political issues when the implementation took effect on November 25.)
The reassignment, based on Special Order Number NHQ-SO-URA-2024-10296 issued by PNP Chief Police General Rommel Francisco Marbil and signed by Acting Chief of the Directorial Staff Police Major General Alan Okubo, transferred PRO-Davao personnel to PRO-Cagayan Valley, PRO-Mimaropa, PRO-Bicol, and PRO-CAR.
“Ang re-assignment atong 65 ka PNP personnel padulong sa PRO-2, PRO-CAR, Mimaropa, and PRO-5 kay part lang pud na siya sa amoang regular na mga procedures ba, nga ma-reassign, kay national in scope ang Philippine National Police, so pwede mi ma-reassign bisan asa sa whole Philippines and anytime,” the official added.
(The re-assignment of our 65 PNP personnel to PRO-2, PRO-CAR, Mimaropa, and PRO-5 is just part of our regular procedures for re-assignment since the Philippine National Police is national in scope. This means we can be re-assigned anywhere in the Philippines at any time.) DEF with reports from KBP
