Interior Secretary Mar Roxas. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—In an unprecedented move, four of the five top police officials in Metro Manila were relieved of their posts in what Interior Secretary Mar Roxas described as part of their efforts to boost the fight against criminality in the metropolis.
According to Roxas, the top-level revamp was recommended by Philippine National Police chief Director General Alan Purisima and National Capital Region Police Office chief Director Carmelo Valmoria.
“This is part of the reinvigorated anticriminality campaign (in Metro Manila),” Roxas said in a brief statement on Wednesday.
“Over the last three months, 14 station commanders of the 38 police stations in the National Capital Region have been relieved and replaced by the PNP,” he added.
Among those relieved were Quezon City Police District head Chief Supt. Richard Albano who was replaced by his deputy, Senior Supt. Joel Pagdilao.
Chief Supt. Rolando Asuncion of the Manila Police District, on the other hand, was succeeded by Senior Supt. Rolando Nana.
Chief Supt. Henry Ranola was designated Southern Police District director in place of Chief Supt. Jose Erwin Villacorte while Northern Police District head Chief Supt. Edgardo Layon was replaced by Chief Supt. Jonathan Ferdinand Miano.
Only Chief Supt. Abelardo Villacorta, Eastern Police District chief, retained his post. Roxas said the sacked police officials would be “reassigned to other posts.”
The revamp came amid mounting calls for Purisima’s resignation following the filing of plunder and indirect bribery complaints against him in the Office of the Ombudsman over corruption allegations.
In particular, anticrime watch group Volunteers against Crime and Corruption also pointed to the growing number of lawmen being linked to illegal activities such as the 10 La Loma policemen tagged in the Edsa robbery-abduction incident and the perceived hike in high-profile criminal cases like the killing of racing champ Enzo Pastor as other reasons for the PNP chief to step down.
The PNP, however, earlier reported a 15.63 percent decrease in crime incidents nationwide for the first six months of the year. It also said that total crime volume went down to 346,469 cases from January to June this year compared to 410,665 during the same period in 2013.
Malacañang, meanwhile, defended Purisima, saying he continued to have the “moral ascendancy” to lead the PNP in the face of allegations about his unexplained wealth.
The Inquirer tried to reach Valmoria for comment but he did not respond to phone calls or text messages.