Friday, September 21, 2007 Alarcio thanks Cebu as he leaves PRO 7
WHEN Chief Supt. Silverio Alarcio Jr. leaves his post later this month, he will remember the “beautiful and kind” Cebuanos he served and the 12th Asean summit, the two things that made his stint here memorable.
Alarcio will leave the Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 to assume the post of Directorate for Operations at the Philippine National Police Headquarters in Camp Crame in Manila.
He would not say yet who the candidates are for the next PRO 7 chief but Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña said Chief Supt. Ireneo Bacolod has been endorsed by local government officials for the post.
Alarcio made an exit courtesy call on Osmeña yesterday to thank the mayor for his support during the 16 months he was assigned here and for giving him the opportunity to serve the Cebuanos.
Dedication
The police official also visited Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia.
Garcia, who heads the Regional Peace and Order Council, is recommending Senior Supt. Ronald Roderos to replace Alarcio.
She said she has seen Roderos’ unfailing cooperation and dedication to the job and, considering that he “has risen from the ranks,” he is already very knowledgeable of the job.
“He’ll be very, very effective in that position. In fact, he is now the deputy director so it would only be fair, right and more so, I really believe in the capability of Gen. Roderos. He deserves the job and more than that, I think Cebu deserves the service that he has been giving,” Garcia told reporters yesterday.
Garcia was also grateful to Alarcio and commended him for a good job while serving the region.
Challenges
“He was specially handpicked to serve Cebu and the region at one of the most crucial times of our history when we had to host this momentous but gargantuan event, the 12th Asean Summit. His cool, calm, efficient, low-profile leadership helped tremendously in achieving what has now been called the best ever Asean summit,” the governor said.
Security preparations during the 12th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit was the biggest challenge for Alarcio during his stint, but the day-to-day operations in keeping Cebu and the rest of the region safe also proved to be a challenging task for the official.
It was the first time Alarcio got an assignment as regional director.
“My previous positions were combat assignments and this one is different because you have to work with the community... As far as I’m concerned, I did my job... I will just leave the assessment of my performance to other people,” he said, saying he didn’t want to say anything that might be perceived as self-serving.
Predecessor
He feels sad to leave Cebu and the people he has worked with, but he also looks forward to his new assignment with hopes that his predecessor will continue the programs he started here.
“We restored the initiative of the ground commanders and I hope they will continue to be in the forefront in addressing local concerns and not just wait for guidance from higher officials,” Alarcio told Sun.Star Cebu in an interview at City Hall.
While Alarcio is in Manila to prepare for his next assignment, Deputy Regional Director for Administration Ronald Roderos will assume as acting PRO 7 chief.
He further said his replacement will be known on the day of the turnover on Sept. 28, as he does not want to speculate on who are the possible replacements and who are those who were endorsed by politicians.
Appointment
In his news conference, Osmeña said he endorsed Bacolod’s appointment to Camp Crame after hearing good things about him.
The mayor said that except for Garcia, other governors and some legislators in Central Visayas have also endorsed Bacolod, a Cebuano from Bantayan Island.
“I did a background check on him (Bacolod) and he’s okay so I endorsed him. My adviser said he’s good in this business. He was endorsed by Congressmen Cuenco and del Mar and by the different governors except for Governor Garcia, so I guess he’s good,” Osmeña said. (LCR/MBG)
