THE 75 police personnel of Bayawan City Police Station who were relieved from their posts on Tuesday, March 7, 2023, will undergo a refresher course at the Regional Mobile Force Battalion-Central Visayas (RMFB 7) in Sibonga town, southern Cebu.
In a related development, all police personnel of Santa Catalina Police Station, including their station commander, were also relieved from their positions on Wednesday, March 8, 2023, for unknown reasons.
They will be replaced by rookie cops from the RMFB 7 and neighboring police stations in Negros Oriental.
The sendoff ceremony for Santa Catalina cops took place Wednesday morning, March 8, at the same time they were urged to obey any instructions given by their superiors.
Meanwhile, according to Colonel Reynaldo Lizardo, director of the Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office (Noppo), the refresher course would update the knowledge of Bayawan policemen without harming their morale because their status as officers will remain the same regardless of their assignment.
“Di naman sila ma low morale, kinausap ko sila kahit very busy yung schedule natin nagpakita talaga ako sa kanila dahil ayaw kong umalis sila dito na di nila ako makikita bilang kanilang commander. Nakita nyu naman binigyan ko sila ng word of encouragement, di yan ma lo-low morale dahil part yan ng programa ng PNP,” Lizardo said on Wednesday, March 8, 2023, in an interview with reporters inside the Noppo compound.
(This would not affect their morale, I talked to them even though we had a hectic schedule. I met with them in person because I didn't want them to leave without seeing me as their commander. As you can see, I gave them some words of encouragement, which could not have lowered their morale because it is part of the program of the PNP.)
The police director, however, declined to provide an explanation why the police officers were relieved of their duty.
But according to Lieutenant Colonel Gerard Ace Pelare, spokesperson of the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO 7), the Bayawan Police Station needs young police personnel to join the search for the remaining suspects in the killings of Governor Roel Ragay Degamo and eight others in his residential compound in Pamplona town, Negros Oriental last Saturday, March 4, 2023.
The Bayawan police officers have already turned over their service firearms along with the bullets, Kevlar bulletproof vests and helmets to the provincial police office. (AYB/TPT)