AFTER being holed up at the municipal hall for about a week now, Mayor Jose Nadie Arceo of Hinigaran, Negros Occidental, said he is ready to go home as the new town police chief will be installed on Wednesday, August 23.
Arceo had been staying at the town hall since Wednesday last week as drug suspects are reportedly threatening to kill him.
He also lost trust and confidence in the town police led by Senior Inspector Lawrence Bathan.
The mayor had been seeking the relief of Bathan, but Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (Nocppo) and Police Regional Office (PRO)-Negros Island Region (NIR) had found no grounds to relieve the town police chief.
However, Arceo got a favorable response when he brought the matter to Philippine National Police chief, Director General Ronald de la Rosa.
He said he talked to De la Rosa the other day and the latter directed his men to approve the mayor’s request.
Bathan will be replaced by Chief Inspector Jake Barila from PRO-NIR.
Arceo said that Barila, who is from Silay City, is his choice as police chief.
Once Barila is installed, he will no longer sleep at the municipal hall although he didn’t discount the threats.
He added that he will remain cautious.
Arceo said he is expecting an intensified campaign against illegal drugs and criminality from the police this time, adding that he had “no control” over the previous town police chief.
Moreover, Arceo said the person who got arrested for threat and possession of illegal firearms last August 1 was not his bodyguard.
He was a member of the town’s anti-illegal drug task force, the mayor said.
Arceo denied reports that the rift between him and the policemen stemmed from the arrest of this person.
For his part, Senior Superintendent Rodolfo Castil Jr., Nocppo director, said the relief order of Bathan came out on Tuesday, August 22.
Bathan will be transferred to Malacañang under the office of Presidential Peace Adviser Jesus Dureza.
While Bathan is waiting for the order, he will be assigned at the provincial police office, Castil said.
He said he will meet with Barila today to brief him about the situation in Hinigaran.
Chief Superintendent Edmund Gonzales, PRO-NIR director, said the move will give the mayor a chance to accomplish more on the anti-criminality campaign as he has trust and confidence in the new police chief.