Wednesday, January 03, 2007 Comendador replaces Gayotin
AFTER spending more than two years as officer-in-charge of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), Supt. Melvin Gayotin has been reassigned to the Police Regional Office (PRO) 7.
A list of five qualified officers will be submitted to Mayor Tomas Osmeña so he can pick a permanent replacement for Gayotin.
“Gayotin has not done any wrong. His accomplishments speak for his records. However, we will be putting in a full-fledged colonel as city director,” said Chief Supt. Silverio Alarcio Jr., PRO 7 director.
Senior Supt. Patro-cinio Comen-dador, deputy chief of the Regional Intelligence and Investigation Division and chief of the office’s intelligence section, will take Gayotin’s place in the meantime.
Gayotin expected his relief. In the last week of December, he told reporters he may not be city director by January. “That was more than enough nga chance ang ilang gihatag nako. Nalipay nako ana (My stint at the CCPO was more than enough. I’m very grateful for it),” he said yesterday.
No surprise
With the upcoming elections, his transfer was imminent, he said.
The election period starts on Jan. 14, and bans the transfer of office of all government employees.
Gayotin added that he would not have kept the post that long if officials thought he had not proven his worth.
PRO 7 is still looking for qualified officers to make up the list of five so they can send this to the Senior Officers Placement and Promotions Board in Camp Crame.
The list will include Comendador, said Alarcio.
In early 2006, Gayotin was recommended for transfer to the PRO 6 in Iloilo City. However, officials wanted him to stay put until the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit, originally scheduled for December, was over.
Alarcio stressed that there was “no special reason” for Gayotin’s relief, and that he coordinated with the local chief executive about it.
The move was only a part of the Philippine National Police’s routine administrative procedure, he added.
Busy days
But Vice Mayor Michael Rama was surprised to learn about this development, although he did not want to comment further because he knows the move will also surprise others. Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Bureau Chief Pablo Labra II was one those who expressed surprise, considering that the Asean summit and the Sinulog festival are only a few days away.
But asked if the relief will not interfere with preparations for the Asean summit, Alarcio said Commendador is well aware of their security plans, being a member of the task force.
Commendador heads the task group on billet security, while Gayotin heads the task group in Cebu City.
As they swapped posts yesterday, they also swapped task groups for the Asean summit.
Labra, for his part, said Gayotin was “like a father” who did not hesitate to punish erring personnel but generously recognized good work.
He assured that Comendador will receive the same support they gave to Gayotin.
Long stint
Gayotin became CCPO officer-in-charge on May 5, 2004. His stint was longer than a permanent city director’s usual term of two years.
Alarcio said that for Gayotin to be promoted to senior superintendent, he should also “move up” by occupying other posts.
Councilor Sylvan Jakosalem said the mayor did not object to Comen-dador because he has “a good record” and is not a graduate of the Philippine Military Academy.
“We’ll give him a chance,” Jakosalem quoted the mayor as saying.
Comendador grew up in Corazon, Catmon. He graduated from the Philippine National Police Academy in 1985 and was immediately assigned at the Bagong Buhay Rehabilitation Center when it was still under the Philippine Constabulary.
The fourth of seven siblings, he also served as chief of police in Daanbantayan and was assigned at the CCPO (then the called Cebu Metropolitan District Command), Regional Special Action Force and the Cebu Provincial Police Office.
Hot seat
Official orders were signed in Alarcio’s office yesterday afternoon while a short turnover ceremony took place.
Alarcio told Comen-dador to take care of the CCPO and told him that assuming the post from Gayotin was a tall order.
“It is a challenge for him to possibly do some more and ensure that business in the city will be robust with the maintenance of peace and order,” Alarcio told reporters.
After accepting the challenge, Comendador said he plans to evaluate existing assignments before proposing a revamp.
For now, he will focus on harnessing the support of the local government unit, making sure there’s efficient deployment and use of resources and reducing crime.
Asked how he plans to stay in a post that is described as a hot seat, he said he will emulate Gayotin’s style.
Vigilantes
However, one of Gayotin’s failures was to solve the mystery behind vigilante killings.
Comendador said he will deal with the killings in tandem with other crimes.
Gayotin left the CCPO with a “Medalya ng Kasanayan” for his achievements as officer-in-charge.
Among his accomplishments were the arrests of robbery syndicate leaders Danny Limotan and Rey Torres, as well as innovations in crime prevention.
Gayotin introduced the concept of installing blinking blue lights on public utility vehicles, for drivers to switch on when a robbery is in progress.
He also introduced the text-a-crime program.
Through the help of the Cebu City Government and the business sector, Gayotin was also responsible for the establishment of new police stations through the adopt-a-police-station project and started the renovation of CCPO Headquarters, said Labra. (MEA/With JST)
