THE Cagayan de Oro City Police Office (Cocpo) said on Monday, November 28, has been ordered to “redeem the honor of the police” by finding Enrique Fernandez III who has been missing since he was taken by five policemen at Uptown Condotel in Upper Balulang last October 23.
rSuperintendent Surki Sereñas, Northern Mindanao police spokesperson, said PRO-Northern Mindanao regional director Chief Superintendent Noel Constantino has no plans yet of replacing Senior Superintendent Ronnie Francis Cariaga as city police director but said Cariaga was instructed to intensify Cocpo’s search for the missing Fernandez.
“Ang instruction ni RD (The instruction of regional director) is find the body para ma-redeem ang honor sa PNP (to redeem the honor of PNP),” Sereñas added.
Majority of the City Council wants Cariaga ousted and the provincial board of Misamis Oriental is mulling on passing a resolution for the city police director's relief.
Sereñas said Constantino has no intention of relieving Cariaga even if the latter requested to be replaced.
“If there are compelling reasons for Cariaga's relief and if it would be for the good of the service and the people of Cagayan de Oro, then that would be a possibility. But as of the present, PSSupt (Police Senior Superintendent) Cariaga remains as city director until RD terminates his designation,” Sereñas said.
Sereñas reiterated that it would be difficult to remove all the police in Cocpo although it happened in Ozamis City where officials from the city director down to the lowest ranks were replaced and transferred after President Rodrigo Duterte accused the police force of being influenced by narco-politics.
Sereñas said there is no basis to do similar action to Cocpo since there are still good policemen performing their duties.
Serenas said further that the jailed Senior Inspector Ereneo Ramirez and his men Police Officer 3 Alejandro Ubanan, Senior Police Officer 2 Jojo Lim, Senior Police Officer 1 Alaindelon Tacubao, and Police Officer 2 Sangkula Hussein were just few of the bad eggs who have stained the image of the PNP.
Serenas maintained that the police did not fail to investigate the incident as three case conferences were made to assist the Fernandez' family before the case was handled by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
Cariaga even advised the victim's family to seek assistance from the NBI to avoid perceptions of “whitewash” or “cover-up” should the police investigate their own men.