3 towns in La Union, 1 in Pangasinan lose police forces

BAUANG, La Union—The police forces of this town and three others in Tubao, Agoo and Naguilian, all in La Union province, were relieved on Aug. 9 but for reasons that remain unclear.

Earlier in Pangasinan province, the police force of Asingan, hometown of former President Fidel V. Ramos, was also relieved.

Supt. Emmanuel Reyes, La Union deputy police director for administration, said the orders came from the Philippine National Police headquarters in Camp Crame.

When asked if the transfer involved the police campaign against  illegal drugs, Reyes replied, “Probably.”

Bauang Mayor Martin de Guzman, Naguilian Mayor Reynaldo Flores, Tubao Mayor Dante Garcia and former Agoo Mayor Eufronio Eriguel were on a list of politicians tied to the illegal drug trade. All four officials denied involvement in illegal drugs.

Reyes said the chief investigator and the chief administrative officer in each of the police offices of the four La Union towns were retained.

At the Bauang police station, 11 female police officers and four nonuniformed personnel were not transferred.

On Thursday, 30 policemen from Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte and the Ilocos Regional Public Safety Battalion arrived to take over the Bauang police station, along with Chief Insp. Joel Lacto, the new police chief.

The relieved personnel were reassigned to Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur.

One of the policemen deployed to Bauang said he was surprised by the immediate reshuffling. “We could not understand the process [of reshuffling personnel] anymore,” he said.

In Pangasinan, no one had explanations either for the relief of the Asingan police force.

Chief Insp. Ryan Manongdo, the new police chief, said he received an order on Aug. 4 assigning him to Asingan. He said he was not aware why 23 police officers, including the former police chief, and four nonuniformed personnel, were sacked.

Manongdo, who used to head the Pozorrubio police station, said he took over the police station on Aug. 5, along with 22 policemen from La Union.

Manongdo replaced Chief Insp. Melecio Mina, who was directed to oversee the Pozorrubio police. The displaced policemen and personnel were transferred to the La Union provincial police.

A councilor here, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said rampant drug peddling in the town may have been a reason for the mass relief.

He cited a report that described Asingan as first among the 10 towns of the province’s sixth district with the most drug users and traffickers. Yolanda Sotelo and Gabriel Cardinoza, Inquirer Northern Luzon