No Mayor’s Endorsement on CPPO Director

Mayor Michael Rama is planning to go back to Manila maybe this week to meet again with Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Allan Purisima to find out why Camp Crame officials have already appointed Senior Superintendent Mariano Natuel Jr. as full-pledged director of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) even without his endorsement.

Rama also announced that he will have the matter to be evaluated by the city lawyers for possible filing of appropriate charges questioning the actuations of the PNP authorities because the law is clear that it is the mayor who has given the power to choose their police chief and the PNP heirarchy will only recommend at least five eligible police officials.

The mayor further said that if the police heirarchy would insist that they will be the one to decide of who will be designated as chief of police in Cebu City then he will ask Purisima to sign a document that in case there will be a breakdown of peace and order in the city, they would be the ones to be blamed and not the mayor.

Section 63 of Republic Act 8551 or the New Police Act of 1998 provides that one of the powers given to the mayors is the authority to choose the chief of police from a list of five eligibles recommended by the police director.

Rama narrated that when he visited Purisima in Camp Crame last week, the PNP chief had told him to resubmit his request that Senior Superintendent Noli Romana is his choice to be designated as director of the Cebu City Police Office to head the 900 police force in he city.

At present, Romana is assigned in Negros Oriental.

“Akong i-submit pagbalik ang request nga dugay na nako nga gipadala sa Camp Crame ug mahimo ‘sab tingali nga molarga ko sa Manila,” Rama told the reporters yesterday.

The mayor did not say whether he is planning to withdraw the Cebu City’s support to CCPO by pulling out the city’s vehicles assigned to the police and the granting of fuel to all police vehicles.

“Dili lang usa nato na hisgutan pagka karon basta kay wala ko malipay sa ilang gihimo nga wala tumana ang balaud,”
the mayor said.