NAGA CITY (Nov. 17) – In a joint public hearing of the Senate Committee on Local Government headed by Sen. Benigno 'Noynoy' Aquino III and the Senate Committee on Public Order headed by Sen. Gringo Honasan, Naga City Mayor Jesse M. Robredo as well as other local government officials from Bikol assailed OIC Regional Director Police Senior Superintendent Balluigi Agnanayon Tira's mishandling of the Philippine National Police (PNP) in the region.
Robredo believes that the efforts of the local government were not in vain. "Primero, an Senate sympathetic sa local government units, in the sense na pinapapaliwanag an PNP kun ta'no ta dai sinunod an regular na proseso," he said.
The mayor also shared the effects of the Senate hearing and the open letter, "Within the next three or four days, sasalidahan na ni OIC Chief of Police Macoy. Very likely, i-reretain digdi si RMG (Regional Mobile Group) ta pig-request mi until the end of the year."
He went on to criticize Tira's alleged mishandling of the PNP here in Bikol. "Malinaw na bayolasyon an ginibo ni Col. Tira. Malinaw na an pag-tenir digdi ni Col. Macoy, sala na ta an nakalaag sa ley, an officer in charge sarong bulan man lang dapat. After which, dapat may regular na chief of police na," Robredo disclosed.
As a result of the senate hearing and the open letter addressed to the president and signed by civic leaders in Naga, the PNP Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management (DIDM) has decided to dismiss Tira's request for the investigation of the 14 Naga policemen accused of involvement in drugs. With the charges dropped, the fourteen are now free to return to the city. Police Director Edgardo Acuña, Director for Personnel and Records Management of the PNP has since released a directive ordering Tira to reinstate the policemen.
Meanwhile, the Camarines Sur Banker's Association (CSBA) trooped to the Police Provincial Office (PPO) in Concepcion Grande, demanding that Provincial Director Supt. Romeo Tambungui act on the worsening peace and order situation in the city. Alarmed by the sudden occurrence of armed robberies in Naga, the CSBA, headed by Philippine National Bank (PNB) Naga Branch Bank Manager Mariano Aureus, Jr. went directly to the provincial director, asking for concrete steps to be taken against organized crime. Supt. Tambungui, for his part, said that organized crime is virtually non-existent in the province and that police investigators are nearing the investigation of the two deadly armed robberies in which motorcycle-riding men killed Manuel Ortiz and Metrobank security guard Rowenel Gavarra, in October and November respectively.
Aureus says that the PNP provincial command has assured them of peace and order in Naga and Camarines Sur. "In the next few days or weeks, we will know how good their assurance is. The robbery of Metrobank pick-up at Jollibee and the hold-up robbery which resulted in the death of Manuel Ortiz should immediately be solved to prove enforcers are doing their job," Aureus said.
A press conference regarding the findings of the PNP during the investigation of the Jollibee heist is scheduled for Nov. 19 at the Naga City Hall.