CITY Police chief Senior Superintendent Ronnie Francis Cariaga said on Monday, November 21, he is willing to resign from his post and take the fall for the “faults” of the Cagayan de Oro City Police Office (Cocpo).
Cariaga said as city police director he recognized that he is, by virtue of command responsibility, partly to blame for the misdeeds of the five policemen accused in the October 23 kidnapping of Enrique Fernandez III.
"Kung wala nay salig ang katawhan, mo-give way na lang ko kay nahulog nga ang nahitabo sa lima ka police, ako ang nahimong rason. Kung ako man ganing naay sala magpapauli na lang ko (If people don’t trust me anymore, then I will give way because it seems that what happened with the five policemen was my fault. If ever it was my fault, I will leave)," Cariaga said.
Cariaga said he is willing to give up his post to give way to new leadership but also said he has not given up yet on the task of cleansing undesirables in Cocpo.
"Kung ing-ana nga wala nakoy dungog nga magpabilin sa CDO (Cagayan de Oro) pero nagsalig pa gihapon ko sa statement ni mayor nga he wants me to succeed, pangitaan paagi pero kung totally wala na gayud I have no reason nga magpabilin diri (If this is how it will be, I don’t have the reputation to remain in Cagayan de Oro but I will still rely on the mayor's statement that if he wants me to succeed, I will find a way but if there’s none, I have no reason to remain)," Cariaga added.
The chairman of the City Council's committee on police, fire, and public safety, meanwhile, is pushing for Cariaga's relief .
City Councilor Romeo Calizo said Cariaga should be accountable for the actions of his men.
"Naa gyuy (There was a) failure of command responsibility, naa man siyay (he has the) will to discipline, pero dili (but not) complete ug (and) concrete ," he said.
Calizo, a retired Army general, said Cariaga must have been aware of the operations of his men as commander.
"There are lapses in supervision kay kabalo man siya sa tanang (because he knows all the) operations, because commanders are always informed sa tanang lihok (with every move [of his subordinates])," he added.
But Cariaga said he hoped the arrest of the five policemen linked in the alleged October 23 kidnapping of Enrique Fernandez III will begin the rehabilitation of the image of the Cocpo.
The five suspects--Senior Inspector Ereneo Ramirez, former chief of the Crime against Person and Property Desk and his subordinates Police Officer 3 Alejandro Ubanan, Senior Police Officer 2 Jojo Lim, Senior Police Officer 1 Alaindelon Tacubao, and Police Officer 2 Sangkula Hussein have already been taken to the Lumbia City Jail.
"Sa tinuod lang, ako ang nag-refer sa NBI kay at my own level lisod kung police mag-investigate kay ang attachment nila kay kabaro ra baya nila so mas maayo ang NBI. I don't know kung wise decision ba tong akong pag-refer (Honestly, I was the one who referred the NBI because at my own level, it’s hard if police will investigate their colleagues. I don't know if my referral was a wise decision)," Cariaga said.
Cariaga also said the call for the replacement of all policemen in Cocpo is impossible to do, an observation shared by Northern Mindanao police deputy spokesperson Mardy Hortillosa II.
"Medyo dako-dako nga isyu kung imo nang pulihan ang more or less 800 ka police sa Cocpo kay daghan considerations like mangita kag investigator, intelligence and admin personnel ug uban pang position aha man ta manguha ana (It's a big issue if we will replace more or less 800 policemen because there are a lot of considerations to take like finding an investigator, intelligence, and admin personnel and other positions; where can we find that)?" Hortillosa said.
"But depende pa na, wala pay feedback ana kang regional director dili ta kaingon nga pulihan tanan o dili (But everything will depend on the feedback of the regional director, we can’t say for now if everyone will be replaced or not),"Hortillosa added.
But Hortillosa said PRO-Northern Mindanao will not shy from relieving a member of the organization linked to unlawful activities and reminded all policemen in Northern Mindanao to perform the police mandate and avoid illegal and unlawful activities.
"Wala gitudlo sa PNP (Philippine National Police) ang paghimo og daotan but ang mandato sa pag-maintain sa peace and order and pag-enforce sa balaod so dili dapat motipas og laing dalan (The PNP did not teach unlawful acts instead mandated to maintain peace and order and enforce law so no one will bypass the wrong way) " Hortillosa said.
