Saturday, September 29, 2007 Editorials: Choosing the next PRO 7 chief
CHOOSING the next director of the Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 has seemingly been reduced, at least at the local level, to a political power play.
Or more specifically, it has been included in the continuing conflict between Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia and Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmena.
Osmeña’s push for Chief Supt. Ireneo Bacolod was stymied by Garcia’s endorsement of Chief Supt. Ronald Roderos, a PRO 7 deputy director.
An interesting twist there is the backing the two powerful Cebu leaders got, which would tend to show to a certain degree the temperament of top officials in the region.
Support
Osmena’s lobby for Bacolod got the support of Bohol Gov. Erico Aumentado (although he downplayed his signing of the endorsement) and some congressmen.
Two other governors, Siquijor’s Orlando Fua and Negros Oriental’s Emilio Macias III, shared Garcia’s belief that Roderos should get the plum post.
In the current scheme of things, three out of the four governors in Central Visayas supporting Roderos is better than having the backing of a lone governor and a city mayor.
Osmeña must have realized this because he seemed resigned to the possibility Roderos will get the post supposedly because his endorsement of Bacolod failed to reach the Office of the President.
Relation
But accepting the possibility of Roderos getting the post does not mean Osmeña will be as friendly with him as he was with outgoing PRO 7 Chief Silverio Alarcio Jr.
While Roderos has claimed he has good professional relationship with the mayor, it is public knowledge that the latter has not been cozy with some PRO 7 officers.
This stemmed from previous conflict on the choice of Cebu City police chief, with the mayor insisting on his preferred officers despite their lack of qualification.
As a result, the mayor lashed at the Philippine Military Academy graduates whom he claimed were favored in the deployment to plum police posts.
Cooperation
This could be the reason why the mayor, even if he does not know Bacolod, has insisted on endorsing him instead of Roderos, who has been with PRO 7 for a long time.
But whether Roderos or Bacolod will become PRO 7 chief, it is the responsibility of all government officials in the region to cooperate with him, even if only grudgingly.
