Friday, November 21, 2008 SC ruling to affect appointments
THE decision of the Supreme Court declaring unconstitutional the law converting Naga, Bogo and Carcar into cities is seen to affect police service.
Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO) Director Carmelo Valmoria said that with the reduction of the Internal Revenue Allotment that comes with the downgrading of the cities’ status, their allocations for fuel and intelligence and operational funds are also expected to be cut.
As for chiefs of police, Valmoria said officers ranked superintendent are supposed to head city police stations. With the downgrading of the status, it would not be necessary to have these stations headed by officers of this rank.
Preference
“But personally, I would prefer these are headed by superintendents considering the situation in these areas, compared to other municipalities, particularly on crime incidents,” he told reporters yesterday.
He explained that the economies of Bogo, Naga and Carcar were factors why he preferred to have the police stations there headed by superintendents. For now, he said the current police chiefs will remain where they are.
As for the number of personnel assigned to the station, Valmoria said they will maintain it.
Each municipal station is required to have at least 21 officers and with the crime situation in the three areas, he said there was no need to bring the number of personnel down to the minimum.
Projects
The downgrading of the status of Naga, Bogo and Carcar is seen to reduce their IRA shares. Valmoria said this would mean the budget that the local government units
allot for peace and order will also be reduced.
The mayors are planning to ask the Supreme Court to reconsider its decision, as they stand to lose at least P120 million each in IRA shares.
The mayors said the decision will affect major infrastructure projects, appointments of schools division superintendents, chief city prosecutor and department heads.
At the Cebu Schools Division, Superintendent Dr. Serena Uy voiced concerns over the effect of the SC decision on the appointments of schools division superintendents in the cities of Bogo, Carcar and Naga.
She said the schools division superintendents may be reassigned back to the Province after the SC decision.
But Uy said she directed the schools division superintendents in the three cities to stay in their posts until the court order becomes final and executory.
In the case of jail facilities under the supervision of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), Central Visayas Director Doris Remedios-Dorigo said the SC decision will only have a slight effect.
“Category lang ang maiiba. From a city jail, it will be converted back to a municipal jail,” Dorigo said.
Dorigo, however, said her office will still wait for the final order from the BJMP Central Office about the matter, considering that the affected cities will still be filing an appeal. (MEA/GMD/JTG)
