POLICE Lieutenant Colonel Wildemar Tiu has formally assumed his post as the new chief of Highway Patrol Group Central Visayas (HPG 7), replacing Police Colonel Neil Francia, who has retired from service.
Before his appointment by Camp Crame as HPG 7 chief effective November 24, 2025, Tiu previously served as the chief of the Tagum City Police Station under the Davao del Norte Police Provincial Office.
Tiu, a native of Cebu City, is a member of the Philippine National Police Academy Sambigkis Class of 2003. He once headed the Waterfront Police Station, Abellana Police Station, and Mabolo Police Station.
Tiu revealed that with the holiday season approaching, he will deploy HPG 7 personnel to major roads so Cebuanos can feel their presence.
Among their mandates is solving carnapping cases, along with addressing other road-related offenses such as overcharging by public utility vehicle drivers, particularly taxi drivers.
“We are now approaching for the holiday season sa December. We will also support sa atung mga terminals, especially sa atung mga passengers who will be taking some public transportations, sa mga taxi, labi na sa mga esnabero nga mga taxi driver. They can report it,” said Tiu.
(We are now approaching the holiday season. This December, we will also support our terminals, especially our passengers who will be taking public transportation like taxis. If they encounter abusive taxi drivers, they can report them.)
Tiu warned erring drivers to stop refusing passengers to avoid facing sanctions.
He urged passengers who encounter such drivers to document the incident by taking videos or photos and report it to their office so they can act on the complaint.
“Ang atong tips ana sa atong mga commuters, mag picture sila sa taxi body number. Pwede ni nila i-report sa Highway Patrol Group sa atong LTO, LTFRB diha. Joint force ta ani para to protect sa atong mga commuters,” he added.
(Our tip to commuters: take a photo of the taxi’s body number, and they can report it to the Highway Patrol Group, the LTO, or the LTFRB. We will work together to protect our commuters.)
The police official acknowledged that HPG 7 has received numerous complaints about alleged motorcycle theft, but investigations revealed that most of the reported cases were not theft but towing incidents due to illegal parking or violations of local ordinances.
Tiu was first assigned to the Police Regional Office 7 in 2011 under the Regional Personnel and Records Management Division after completing his United Nations mission in Sudan.
After several years, he was given the opportunity to lead various police stations under the Cebu City Police Office, such as Waterfront Police Station 3, Abellana Police Station 2, and Mabolo Police Station, where he cleared his areas of jurisdiction of street dwellers. (AYB)