PRO6 effects reshuffling

The position of deputy regional director for Operations of the Western Visayas police supposedly earmarked for Senior Supt. Charles Calima, former provincial police director of Negros Occidental, was given yesterday to Senior Supt. Norlito Bautista.

This was confirmed yesterday by Region 6 police director Geary Barias who said that Calima had asked for transfer to the Police Regional Office 4 in Central Luzon.

Calima, who was relieved as provincial police director of Negros Occidental on Sept. 27, had been on a floating status since, pending the transfer of Senior Supt. Isagani Cuevas, PRO 6 deputy regional director for Operations, to Camp Crame.

The transfer of Cuevas to Camp Crame triggered a reshuffling among senior police officers occupying key positions in Western Visayas, among them is Senior Supt. Modesto Sanson, Victorias police chief, who was named incoming provincial police director of Guimaras.

Barias yesterday installed Senior Supt. Wesley Barayuga as director of the Iloilo City Police Office, replacing Bautista who was named Western Visayas police deputy regional director for Operations.

The position of Barayuga as chief of the PRO 6 Operations and Plans Division is slated to be occupied by Senior Supt. Ronilo Quebrar, officer-in-charge of the Guimaras Police Provincial Office.

Sanson, who will replace Quebrar, will assume the Guimaras Police Provincial Office command on Nov. 6.

Barias said he is still looking for qualified senior police officers who will temporarily assume command of the Antique and Capiz Police Provincial Offices.

Senior Supt. Bartolome Tobias, OIC of the Antique PPO, is now assigned in East Timor as part of the United Nation peacekeeping force from the Philippines.

Meanwhile, Senior Supt. Cipriano Querol, provincial police director of Capiz, is also up for retirement, Barias said.

Other senior police and NAPOLCOM officials previously assigned in Negros Occidental are Chief Supt. Leopoldo Bataoil, Ilocos region police chief, and Marty Palomar, Region 1 NAPOLCOM director.*GPB

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'We did not harass Briton'

Two former deputized enforcers of the Land Transportation Office yesterday denied that they harassed a British national into giving them P10,000 and that they identified themselves as being LTO men.

Ben Panganiban and Bobby Francia went to LTO Bacolod chief Norman Saril yesterday to air their side on the claim of British national Simon Clark.

Clark, who came to the DAILY STAR office Sunday, said the two followed him to Lopue's East Friday and accused him of owing the owner of Mia's Eatery, who also has a karaoke bar in Barangay Villamonte, P10,000 as a partner in the business.

Clark denied that he owed any money to the owner of the bar and said he told the two he had no money.

"But they told me they had been conducting a surveillance on me and saw me withdraw money from the bank. They said if I did not pay they would take me to police Precinct 4 where I would be detained and could not get out," Clark said.

Because of the threats of the two, Clark further said, he gave them the P10,000 they were asking for.

But both Panganiban and Francia said they did not identify themselves as LTO men when they spotted Clark at Lopues, saying they are no longer deputized agents of the LTO and don't even have identification cards of the agency anymore. They said Clark knew them because they had drank beer together at Mia's Eatery owned by Richie Ang in Villamonte.

Saril said the IDs of the deputized agents of the LTO had been recalled in July after their assignments were abolished.

Panganiban said Ang was with them when they met Clark at Lopue's.

Ang said Clark had gone into business with him by setting up a beer place on his property but left without paying P18,000 that he owed a "Bombay", for plywood, carpenter work, rent and salaries of helpers. Panganiban said that when they approached Clark, they did not threaten him, they went up to him and even asked him to go with them to the Police Precinct 4 where he and Ang could talk about the money he owed.

Ang said Panganiban and Francia are friends of his who were with him when they spotted Clark.

He also showed a receipt Clark signed for payment of P9,000 on Friday, which he said represented partial payment of what the Briton owned him. Panganiban said their meeting with Clark was cordial and he asked why the foreigner did not file a police blotter complaining against them if what he claimed were true.

Clark said he did not report the incident to the police because he was afraid that Panganiban had connections there, and insisted he was harassed.

Clark is a liar, we did not harass him or conduct a surveillance on him, Panganiban insisted.*CPG

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Cop who released 2 'thieves'
facing forfeiture of salary

A senior non-commissioned police officer who released the two suspects arrested recently for stealing cable wires along the highway of Hacienda Bagroy, Brgy. Balaring, Silay City, Negros Occidental faces punishment of five-day forfeiture of his salary.

The recommendation to impose this against SPO2 Reynaldo Plaza was made yesterday by Chief Inspector Calixto Mabugat, officer-in-charge of the Silay police.

Plaza was relieved by Mabugat from the Silay police General Investigation Section, following his release of theft suspects Freddie Abellar and Emilio Pareja on Oct. 23. He claimed that it was an "honest mistake".

The findings of the Silay police Inspectorate Office, Mabugat said, showed that Plaza should be held liable for misconduct or malfeasance.

Plaza admitted having released suspects Abellar and Pareja as he thought that both had been brought to the police station purely for investigation, police records show.

The recommendation of Mabugat to impose sanctions against Plaza has already been forwarded to Senior Supt. Rosendo Franco, provincial police director of Negros Occidental.*GPB

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