Facade of the PNP headquarters in Camp Crame. Image from pnp.gov.ph website
MANILA, Philippines — The director of the Cebu Police Provincial Office (PPO), who caused a stir for heeding a local government policy instead of the national directive, has been relieved from his post.
But the Philippine National Police (PNP) explained that the removal of Colonel Engelbert Soriano as Cebu PPO director was due to a term limit for police officers with a rank of a “Colonel”.
The PNP-Public Information Office (PIO) on Tuesday said the PNP’s Memorandum Circular 2022-002 states that Police Colonels can hold certain positions in the local police hierarchy for only a year and three months.
As such, Soriano was relieved Sunday, June 12, since he had been holding the Cebu PPO directorial post for more than a year now.
“For info sir/mam, PCOL Engelbert Soriano was relieved as Provincial Director, Cebu PPO effective June 12, 2022,” PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said in a message to reporters on Tuesday.
“His relief is pursuant to the provisions of PNP Memorandum Circular 2022-002, which states that Provincial Director, City Director or COP (chief of police) of NCRPO (National Capital Region Police Office) shall be held by a PCOL for a continuous period of one year, extendible to a maximum of three months upon approval by the CPNP,” she added.
This measure, Fajardo explained, was issued to ensure career advancement for other police officers.
“This is for career advancement and to give greater opportunity to other qualified Third Level PCOs. PCOL Soriano served as PD, CCPO for more than one year,” she pointed out.
To recall, the Cebu PPO drew controversy after Soriano said in a statement that they would be guided by the directive of Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, who issued an executive order last June 8 that makes the wearing of face masks “optional” in open spaces and outdoors. The local directive only requires the wearing of face masks in poorly-ventilated areas.
But Soriano’s statement ran counter to the remarks of his superior, Police Regional Office-7 director Brig. Gen. Roque Eduardo Vega, who urged the public to continue wearing face masks while even outdoors.
READ: Mask on or off? Even Cebu top cops are split
In a briefing on Monday, PNP officer-in-charge Lt. Gen. Vicente Danao Jr. reminded police officers and officials to adhere to the national government’s COVID-19 protocol on the use of face masks. He stressed that the PNP is a national agency and that it might be appropriate for police officers and officials who refuse to follow national directives to just resign.
READ: PNP’s advice to cops who won’t follow mask mandate: Just resign
Danao said police officers and officials should only follow the directive of either the Secretary of the Interior and Local Government, or the President, who is deemed the commander-in-chief.
Danao also said he already talked to Vega about Gov. Garcia’s executive order, adding that the regional director has been firm in implementing the protocols approved by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), which requires the wearing of face masks – except in certain circumstances such as when eating or drinking.
The overall head of the government’s pandemic task force is the President.
The PNP OIC also took a pot shot at a certain ‘hijo’ – a police officer whom he did not name – for trying to play politics.
“Now ‘yong mga matitigas naman ang ulo dahil sumisipsip ka d’yan, eh napakabata mo pa, hijo, para mamulitika, sa totoo lang. ‘Wag ka mamulitiko d’yan, you do your job there,” he said.
(Now, those who are hard-headed because they are trying to earn favors from officials, honestly, kid, you are still young to engage in politics there. Do not engage in politics, you just do your job there.)
Despite a relatively lower number of new cases after the COVID-19 surge early this year, health authorities still advised against allowing people to go outdoors without their face masks on, especially with the threat of the highly transmissible Omicron subvariants.
President Rodrigo Duterte has been adamant about keeping the face mask mandate until his term ends, stressing that the risk of COVID-19 is not yet over. He also said in past briefings that the continuous face mask use may be one of the reasons why the Philippines has been faring better than other countries that experienced a spike in infections after dropping face mask use.
READ: Face masks stay, says Duterte as ‘monster’ COVID-19 is mutating