THE Cagayan de Oro City will have a new city police chief beginning Wednesday, February 15, as Police Senior Superintendent Ronnie Francis Cariaga will be transferred to a new post.
Superintendent Lemuel Gonda, spokesperson of the Northern Mindanao police, said Cariaga will be replaced by PRO-Northern Mindanao Deputy Regional Director for Operations Senior Superintendent Gerardo Rosales who had previously served as city police chief some five years ago.
Cariaga is being transferred to the Police Regional Office (PRO)-Mimaropa comprising the provinces of Marinduque, Occidental and Oriental Mindoro, Romblon, and Palawan.
Cagayan de Oro City Police Office (Cocpo)spokesperson Chief Inspector Mardy Hortillosa said a public official in the Mimaropa supposedly requested Cariaga’s transfer.
Hortillosa said the order came from Camp Crame but he declined to disclose which particular city in the Southwestern Tagalog Region will Cariaga serve as city police director.
"Kini nga order gikan sa Crame kay outside the region man ang iya assignment. Naa na siya initial nahibaw-an kung aha pero dili niya masulti kay wala man official order nga migawas (The order came from Crame as his assignment is outside the region. He had an initial knowledge but he declined to disclose which particular city since it has no official order)," Hortillosa said.
"Walay mahimo si sir Cariaga gawas sa pagsunod sa order ug iyang i-try iyang best nga mahatag ang pinakamaayong serbisyo sa iyang new assignment kung asa man ganing kini (Sir Cariaga has no choice but to follow the order and give quality service to his new assignment, wherever it is)," Hortillosa said.
Cariaga was installed as Cocpo chief last July 8, 2016 and was the recipient of an award for outstanding performance in the government's war on drugs in December last year.
But some city officials had earlier called for Cariaga's ouster following the controversy of five policemen involved in the October 23 kidnapping of Enrique Fernandez III.
Senior Superintendent Reynaldo Padulla was also relieved as provincial director of Bukidnon and will be detailed back to Camp 1st Lt. Vicente G. Alagar.
Senior Superintendent Tyrone Masigon, the current PRO-Northern Mindanao Regional Chief Directorial Staff, will have to replace Padulla as his additional responsibility.
Gonda, who is the current deputy chief of Regional Police Strategy Management Unit, will have an additional assignment as PRO-Northern Mindanao spokesperson to replace Superintendent Surki Sereñas who is out for schooling.
Gonda clarified that the reassignments of Cariaga and Padulla were not due to command responsibility following the involvement of Cocpo policemen to kidnapping incident and several attacks of the New People's Army (NPA) in Bukidnon, respectively.
“Dili kana ang rason (That’s not the reason), reassignment lang sa (of) personnel,” Gonda said.
