EVEN in the best of times, the relationship between a mayor and local police chief requires a combination of diplomacy and honesty, which can be tricky to achieve.
While they share the goal of keeping the community safe, they may possess different ideas about how that can best be done. The more aligned their ideas are, the better their chances of keeping crime down and solving those that slip through their defenses. An accurate picture of the peace and order situation can be more easily had, if the mayor and police chief communicate well between themselves and with the community they both serve.
What makes the situation tricky is that in many cities and towns, the police depends on local government support for some of its operational needs. Providing vehicles, fuel subsidies, allowances, legal support, and incentives is one way cities and towns can support the police force. Rallying the private sector’s support, such as in precinct-building projects, is another. Yet the police chief must also take care that he or she stays independent and does the job without any undue influence from local politicians. We see this tested every time the Philippine National Police appoints a police chief who had failed to make it to the list of officials the mayor recommended. In these cases, the police organization has to stand its ground; it’s in a better position to know how well an official’s qualities match each community’s particular needs and the organization’s priorities.
Senior Supt. Royina Garma owns the distinction of being Cebu City’s first female police chief. She’s also proving herself to be one of the most outspoken among the chiefs we’ve seen in recent years. That’s a definite plus. But the fact that the police chief and Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña present contrasting assessments of the city’s safety is problematic. Whose assessment can the community trust? Whose assessment is more firmly anchored on evidence?
When the mayor allegedly took into his custody two or three persons the police had caught illegally refilling butane canisters in a public market last week, he threw a spanner in the works. Garma has no choice but to try to hold him accountable for that decision, which is an interference in police work, no matter how much the mayor tries to spin it as an act of charity.
Since both the mayor and police chief are accountable to the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), there ought to be a way the DILG can help resolve this brewing disagreement, before it has any harmful consequences on the city. Failing that, the community needs other leaders to step up and try to help bring these two strong personalities to some agreement that will allow them both to serve the city well, regardless of personal or political differences. We need them both.