DAVAO City Mayor Sebastian Duterte said that he will give newly-appointed Davao City Police Office (DCPO) chief PCol Hansel Marantan a chance to prove his worth by ensuring his mandate to ensure the peace and security of the city is fulfilled.
During his third State of the City Address on Tuesday, August 6, Duterte revealed that the appointment of the controversial police official did not undergo his approval.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) had appointed three police colonels as chief of DCPO in a day, consecutively replacing one after the other.
Marantan's appointment was also rigged with controversies due to his involvement in the 2013 “Atimonan massacre.”
Despite this, the mayor said he would challenge the DCPO chief to ensure that the city's peace and order would be sound.
"I want to give him a chance. Kay katong usa, una-una man gitubag na nako kanang RD [Police Regional Director Nicolas Deloso Torre III], pero kani, og maayo, nganong dili man pud (Because for me, the City Director now [Marantan], I want to give him a chance. I already have my answer on RD [Torre], but this one, well, why not)," Duterte said.
"[B]asta buhaton ang trabaho og ma-maintain ang status quo, which all of us ganahan man pud ta, satisfied man ta sa current peace and order situation nato, og ma-maintain lang to, wala man tay problema ana (As long as he will do his job in maintaining the status quo, which we all like. We are satisfied with our current peace and order situation, as long as he can maintain it, we have no problem with that)," he added.
During the suspended rules of the 28th regular session of the 20th City Council on July 23, 2024, at the Sangguniang Panlungsod, Marantan appealed to the public to give him more time before judging his performance.
“Parang hindi ko malaman if [I do not know if] I am wanted or unwanted now so I think that the challenge with me now is to prove more in order to merit your acceptance in Davao City,” he said.
“Word is cheap so please give me some time for you to ask questions as to my performance,” he continued.
During a media interview at the send-off ceremony for the 39th Kadayawan Festival on July 30 at the DCPO grounds, Marantan reiterated that he has yet to receive official approval from the mayor despite being named director on July 10, 2024.
Prior to this, the police official paid a courtesy call to the mayor on July 25, 2024.
Marantan also said that Duterte told him to focus on counterterrorism and ensure the public’s safety and security of the city, especially during the upcoming Kadayawan Festival.
Meanwhile, before his third Soca, Duterte lashed out at Torre for disrupting peace and security in the region as he disclosed the police regional director’s previous controversies for his alleged political participation in Samar in 2018.
Duterte said Torre was jeopardizing the Davao population after he implemented changes in the police agency, particularly the reshuffling and reassignment of some police officers.