Palace: Robredo blocking PNP revamp is 'lawful'

Updated 7:03 p.m.) Malacañang on Saturday brushed aside questions surrounding Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo’s blocking of a shakeup in the Philippine National Police.

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said Robredo was acting within his right as chairman of the National Police Commission (Napolcom), which supervises the PNP.

“What I was made to understand was the secretary was asserting his right as chairman of Napolcom…. He issued that memo [to the PNP chief] by virtue of his compliance with law," Lacierda said on government-run dzRB radio.

Robredo blocked the latest reshuffle in the PNP affecting 10 ranking police officers – amid controversy and confusion over his supervisory role in the organization.

In his controversial memo, Robredo told outgoing PNP chief Director General Jesus Verzosa that no reshuffle would be implemented in the PNP without his approval.

Robredo said in the memo that Verzosa should make sure that all designations and appointments within the PNP follow Republic Act 6975, which places the PNP under the supervision of a “reorganized" DILG.

GMANews.TV tried to get comments from the PNP, through spokesperson Senior Superintendent Agrimero Cruz Jr., about Robredo’s memo, but Cruz has not replied as of posting time.

Reshuffle

The scheduled reshuffle was triggered by the retirement of Chief Superintendent Abner Cabalquinto, head of the PNP’s Directorate for Personnel and Records Management, and Chief Superintendent Luizo Ticman, chief of the PNP’s Directorate for Logistics.

Both were classmates of Verzosa in the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class 1976.

Cabalquinto will be replaced by Chief Superintendent Jaime Milla, while Ticman would be succeeded by Chief Superintendent George Piano.

Verzosa, who assumed as PNP chief on Sept. 27, 2008, has opted for early retirement effective Sept. 15. He reaches the retirement age of 56 on December 25.

President Benigno Aquino III is expected to name Verzosa’s replacement on Sept. 14.

Confusion still mars Robredo’s role in supervising the PNP, in the wake of a bloody hostage crisis in Manila last Aug. 23 that killed eight tourists from Hong Kong and the hostage-taker, a disgruntled police officer.

As Interior Secretary, Robredo supervises the PNP as Interior Secretary, but President Aquino tasked Interior Undersecretary Rico Puno to supervise the police.

Aquino had said he will temporarily take supervision of the PNP after serious police lapses were uncovered during the investigation of the hostage row. — LBG, GMANews.TV

source gma