Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Police General Oscar Albayalde has relieved the commander of the Negros Oriental Provincial Police Office (PPO) and three police directors to give way for an impartial investigation of the bloody operations in the province that led to the death of 14 people.
Ordered relieved were Police Colonel Raul Tacaca, provincial director, Police Lieutenant Colonel Patricio Degay, chief of Canlaon City Police Station; Police Lieutenant Kevin Roy Mamaradlo, chief of Manjuyod Municipal Police Station; and Police Captain Michael Rubia, chief of Sta. Catalina Municipal Police Station.
The four were responsible for the conduct of Oplan Sauron in the province last Saturday that saw 14 people killed.
“I would like to emphasize that their relief is not a punitive measure for alleged actions or inactions rather it is an administrative relief to ensure that they will not be able to exert any influence in the ongoing investigation,” Albayalde said in a press briefing in Camp Crame, Quezon City.
“The purpose of the fact-finding investigation is to determine whether there were any lapses in the series of police operations carried out by the local police units involved and whether or not the rules prescribed in the Revised Police Operations Procedures were properly observed,” he added.
Citing intelligence information from the Negros PPO, the 14 killed were earlier tagged by Albayalde to the Special Partisan Unit (SPARU) of the New People’s Army (NPA).
It was denied by the Leonardo Panaligan Command (LPC-NPA) based in Negros Oriental which said eight of those killed were farmers while the others were civilians.
Although Albayalde maintained the presumption of regularity in the police operations, he said the Internal Affairs Service (IAS) and Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management (DIDM) have already conducted a motu propio investigation to determine whether the policemen involved in the operations committed lapses.
In a press briefing in Camp Crame, Quezon City Tuesday, Police Colonel Bernard Banac, PNP spokesman, reiterated that they are ready to face any investigation that would be conducted by rights and advocacy groups. (Martin Sadongdong)
