THE police provincial office of Mountain Province will be headed by a new officer-in-charge (OIC) with the recent change of command for the office.

Mountain Province Police Office (MPPO) Director Pedro Ganir relinquished his post to Superintendent Fortunato Albas, who will head the provincial police office in an officer-in-charge capacity effective August 13.

Post your prayers and condolences for Cory Aquino's family

Albas is a member of the Philippine National Police Academy class 1983 and spent most of his years of service in the Cordillera region.

Prior to his designation as Mountain Province police OIC, Albas had been assigned as deputy director of the Abra Provincial Police Office in 2003 and at the Benguet Provincial Police Office in 2005.

He also served as the group director of the Police Regional Office-Cordillera Regional Mobile Group (RMG) and chief of the Regional Headquarters Support Group (RHSG).

Ganir, who was designated as officer-in-charge of the RHSG effective Friday, relinquished his post in a turn-over ceremony at the Mt. Data Hotel, with Gov. Maximo Dalog as the guest of honor and speaker.

PRO-Cordiller Director Orlando Pestaño officiated the turnover ceremonies, which was attended by other ranking PRO-Cordillera and provincial officials.

Ganir was given the Medalya ng Kasanayan award for his exemplary performance of provincial police head.

He headed the Ifugao Provincial Police Office from March 2007 to January 2008 and the MP police from January 2008 to August this year.

The change in the MP police is a regular reshuffle among police directors, considering Ganir assumed post as provincial director for two years already, said PRO-Cordillera information officer Tessie Sarmiento.