THE police chief of Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental was relieved from his post Monday, January 15.
Senior Superintendent Rodolfo Castil Jr., director of Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office, said Chief Inspector Allan Reloj was transferred to the Pulupandan Municipal Police Station.
Reloj was replaced by Senior Inspector Alfred de Leon, who is also from the Pulupandan police.
Castil said the relief of Reloj has nothing to do with the arrest of Vice Mayor Ella Celestina Garcia-Yulo and husband Felix Yulo III last month.
He said it was his decision to transfer Reloj, who was detailed at Moises Padilla for about a year now.
Reloj’s relief order was approved by Chief Superintendent Cesar Hawthorne Binag, director of Police Regional Office-Western Visayas, Castil said.
The family of the beleaguered Moises Padilla vice mayor had been seeking the relief of Reloj.
On December 19, the vice mayor and her husband were arrested in a police checkpoint at Crossing Magallon, Moises Padilla. They were charged for illegal possession of explosives, a non-bailable offense, and also of firearms.
The vice mayor had claimed the town police harassed them at the checkpoint, but Reloj dismissed Yulo’s allegation.
Three weeks into detention, the couple were released upon the orders of the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office due to insufficient evidence on the illegal possession of explosives and firearms charges.
No drug charges were filed against the couple as the “shabu” (methamphetamine hydrochloride) allegedly confiscated from their possession tested negative.
The family of Yulo also sought the help of Philippine National Police chief Director General Ronald de la Rosa as they believed the allegations against the vice mayor were orchestrated by Reloj. (with reports from GYM)