Outgoing Bohol Provincial Police Office (BPPO) director Sr. Supt. Angeles Geñorga, Jr. on Thursday said that he has been fair in carrying out his duties as the province’s top cop following his abrupt reassignment.
“Yung mga ganun [politics], wala na ako diyan. Sa akin lang ay sigurado naman natin na tayo ay fair sa ating mga dealings,” said Geñorga after Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 director Chief Supt. Debold Sinas made a statement indicating that directors and station chiefs in the region have been reassigned to avoid partiality during the upcoming polls.
“We received the order from Camp Crame to reshuffle cops with close relations with incumbent politicians seeking reelection,” Sinas told Cebu-based newspaper The Freeman.
Although Sinas did not single out Geñorga, the outgoing BPPO director was ordered to vacate his post on Tuesday through a directive signed by Director Lyndon G. Cubos, chief of the Philippine National Police Directorate for Personnel and Records Management.
Sinas noted that the multiple reassignment of key officials in the region was made in preparation for the midterm polls in May and had nothing to do with the performance of the transferred police officers.
“Sole reason is the connections, not with the performance. It has nothing to do with the performance this time,” Sinas said.
Geñorga has been replaced by Sr. Supt. Julius Gornez, PRO-7 chief of Investigation and Detective Management Division (IDMD) and former Tagbilaran City police chief.
The installment of the new BPPO director is set on Friday.
Geñorga, on the other hand, will take over Gornez’s post as IDMD chief.
Earlier, Geñorga insisted that his sudden reassignment was nothing out of the ordinary amid speculations that his transfer was set in motion due to politics.
“My relief is just a normal process in the PNP. I respect and support the decision of the PNP leadership,” he said.
Meanwhile, some local officials including Provincial Adminstrator Alfonso Damalerio II and Board Member Ricky Masamayor, chair of the Provincial Board’s committee on peace and order, have speculated that the move was driven by politics.
For his part, Governor Edgar Chatto said that Sinas had previously made an assurance that he will not allow the replacement of Geñorga as provincial director due to his “good” performance.
“Kadtong ni-bisita siya [Sinas] sa lalawigan end of December, he was very categorical in saying na dili g’yud niya papulihan ang provincial director sa Bohol kay maayo man kaayo og performance si Geñorga, not only in Bohol, it was a record in the entire region,” Chatto said.
Chatto highlighted the performance of Geñorga as the province’s top cop citing a decrease in crime rate during his one-year stint.
Based on data released by the BPPO, crime rate in Bohol for the first 11 months of 2018 dropped by 13 percent compared to the same period in 2017.
Geñorga took over as BPPO chief in January, 2018. Most provincial police directors serve for at least two years. (RT)