CEBU CITY—The Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) has a new acting chief starting Friday.
Chief Supt. Patrocinio Comendador Jr. takes over the PRO- 7 as officer-in-charge, replacing Chief Supt. Manuel Gaerlan who was reassigned to PRO in Davao region based in Davao City.
READ: Comendador replaces Gaerlan as PRO-7 chief
Gaerlan’s reassignment came barely two months before the upcoming May 9 national elections.
Senior Supt. Renato Dugan, acting chief of the Regional Personnel and Human Resource Development Division in Central Visayas, said they received on Thursday a copy of the order from Camp Crame that the reshuffle would take effect on Friday.
He added that the transfer had a clearance from the Commission on Elections.
Comendador was director of the Cebu Provincial Police Office before he was transferred to National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) in 2013.
About two years later, he returned to Cebu as officer-in-charge of PRO-7.
In a text message to Inquirer, Gaerlan said a formal turnover of command would be held on Monday in Camp Sergio Osmeña, headquarters of the PRO-7 located along Osmeña Boulevard in Cebu City.
“I am lucky and thankful to be given a chance to lead the biggest PRO in the Visayas and now in Mindanao,” he said.
“As a professional police officer, it only takes an order to move me to my present location and take me to where my services are needed. I serve at the pleasure of the Philippine National Police chief,” he added.
Gaerlan had been PRO-7 chief since Dec. 8, 2015 and was among those who were credited for Cebu’s successful hosting of International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) in January which was attended by at least 15,000 delegates from different countries. RAM