Speculations rise on relief of Northern Mindanao cop exec less than 2 months in office

Flag Raising Ceremony at Camp Alagar,Lapasan,Cagayan de Oro City | PHOTO: PNP PRO10 twitter page/@PNPPRO10

ILIGAN CITY–Police personnel at Camp Alagar in Cagayan de Oro City were rehearsing Wednesday for a command turnover ceremony, raising speculations of the pending relief of Northern Mindanao’s top police official.

Lt. Col. Michelle Olaivar, the regional police spokesperson, told a radio station in Cagayan de Oro that the rehearsal aims to ensure that they would be ready should such a ceremony be warranted.

Olaivar’s admission strengthened speculations circulating at the beginning of the week that Brig. Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr. is on his way out after barely warming his seat as regional police director of Northern Mindanao.

Acorda assumed the post on Nov. 25, 2021, after the retirement of Police Brig. Gen. Rolando Anduyan.

In a broadcast commentary Thursday morning, Manny Agustero of Magnum Radio in Cagayan de Oro said Acorda’s impending replacement is “unusual and raises a lot of questions” given that the police official was just over a month in office.

“What is that extraordinary reason for taking him out of the regional command?” Agustero asked in the vernacular, adding that it is not a wise move amid the ongoing preparations for securing the conduct of the national and local elections in the region.

Agustero said such a hasty decision by the national police command to replace Acorda “can only be born out of political pressure.”

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