Pangasinan top cop relieved but turnover postponed at last minute

LINGAYEN, Pangasinan, Philippines—As early as 8 a.m. Saturday, the stage fronting the parade ground of the provincial police office  here had been occupied by the police chiefs from the province’s 48 towns and cities.

After an official announcement Friday night, tarpaulins announcing the turnover of command of the Pangasinan police office from Senior Superintendent Marlou Chan to Senior Superintendent Manuel Velasco adorned the gate and the façade of the provincial police office’s main building.

A radio reporter asked a policewoman for a copy of that morning’s program. But she was politely told that she could not have it because her superior had not given her the clearance to distribute it.

At 8:30 a.m., Chief Inspector Ryan Manongdo, Pangasinan police spokesperson, gathered reporters to a corner near the stage and announced that the turnover ceremony had been postponed.

“We received a call from higher headquarters to tell us that our activity today had been postponed,” Manongdo said.

And that was all he could say.

On Friday night, Manongdo sent text messages to reporters here informing them of the turnover ceremony, which was perceived as an end to the feud between Chan and provincial officials.

Chan, a former Ilocos Norte police director, was designated acting police director of Pangasinan in December. He was appointed regular provincial police chief on May 10.

However, on May 24, Governor Amado Espino Jr. filed a petition for temporary restraining order against Chan’s appointment, saying it violated the Department of the Interior and Local Government Act of 1990, which grants the right to the governor to choose from among three eligible officers recommended to the position by the police regional director.

The case is pending before a regional trial court here.

On June 3, the provincial board passed a resolution urging Chan to step down. A week later, the provincial board declared Chan “persona non grata.”

Chan had been accused of partiality and bias in dealing with election-related issues during the campaign period for the May 13 balloting, among others. Chan, however, denied the accusations.

Manongdo said the postponement of the turnover rites was “something expected” in the Philippine National Police.

“Any time of the day, an order can be issued. Uniformed personnel, by virtue of command, just follow, especially legal orders,” Manongdo said. “This is not the first time that this happened.”

In April last year, a scheduled turnover ceremony at which the then provincial police director, Senior Superintendent Rosueto Ricaforte, was supposed to be replaced, was reset three times within the day but still did not push through.