PILI, Camarines Sur—A total of 29 police officers, 28 of them police chiefs, from different towns in the Bicol region have been removed from their posts after failing to achieve performance targets set in a memorandum issued to all chiefs of police at the start of the year.
Insp. Ma. Luisa Calubaquib, spokesperson of the Philippine National Police for Bicol, said in a phone interview that the police chiefs were pulled out of their posts to attend an eight-day refresher course, which started last Monday, on command memorandum circular No. 2014-02.
The memorandum, entitled “Policy on Operational Performance Output,” enumerates targets in PNP programs and priorities under crime prevention and crime solution which police officers and stations in the region should accomplish.
The memorandum listed community affairs, illegal drug prevention via information campaigns and prevention or a halt to illegal fishing as among the priorities of the PNP in the region.
Calubaquib said failure to accomplish just one of the programs within three months since the memorandum’s release is sufficient as ground to relieve a police chief or officer and send him to the refresher course.
Insp. Renato Battaler, regional PNP public information officer, said in a statement yesterday that, of the 29 police chiefs ordered relieved since June 13, three were from Albay, three from Camarines Norte, three from Camarines Sur, two each from Catanduanes and Masbate and six from Sorsogon.
He said nine other police chiefs had been relieved earlier and are also finishing the refresher course.