POLICE Regional Office-Davao (PRO-Davao) spokesperson Major Catherine dela Rey has clarified that the visit by Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief General Rommel Marbil to Davao City, scheduled for July 28, 2024, was postponed due to Typhoon Carina causing flight cancellations in Luzon.
In an exclusive interview with SunStar Davao on Monday, July 29, Major dela Rey stated that the new schedule for Marbil’s visit has yet to be announced.
Earlier this month, Marbil defended the reassignment of 45 personnel from the Davao City Police Office (DCPO) after Mayor Baste Duterte expressed concerns. The reassignment includes 17 officers and 28 non-commissioned officers, who will be transferred to the Directorate for Personnel and Records Management (DPRM) Personnel Holding and Accounting Unit (PHAU) at PNP Camp Crame, Quezon City.
In a national press conference, Marbil said, “Just a normal process po yung ginagawa natin. Nag-mass relief din tayo today sa Laguna. Normal po yung ginagawa natin. May hinahabol po kaming performance indicator (What we are doing is just a normal process. We also conducted mass relief in Laguna. It’s a standard procedure. We are observing performance indicators).”
He added, “Ang sabi ko kay General (Nicolas) Torre, call po niya to really reshuffle yung mga tao natin to meet the standard na gusto natin mas malapit po at mas maramdaman ng tao yung police (I told General Torre that it’s his call to reshuffle our personnel to meet the standards we want, making the police closer and more responsive to the community)."
He clarified that PRO-Davao Regional Director Brig. Gen. Nicolas Torre was informed about the redesignation.
Last July 9, 19 station commanders were reassigned for service improvement, not for political reasons. This follows the earlier removal of 35 DCPO officers, including Police Colonel Richard Bad-ang, in May to facilitate an investigation into drug-related killings in the city.
Recently, Marbil also ordered the removal of 75 personnel from the PNP Police and Security Group assigned to Vice President Sara Duterte. He clarified that this move was not politically motivated but was necessary due to a shortage of personnel in the National Capital Region, which forced others to work overtime. He emphasized that these changes were discussed with Duterte’s chief of staff. DEF