Gador confirms relief of 2 city station chiefs

Police regional director Eduardo Gador recently said his office is still evaluating the relief of two Cebu City Police station chiefs, three weeks ago, but he confirmed that it may had something to do with the three-strike policy of the Philippine National Police.

Gador said the relief orders against Waterfront Police chief Mariano Batiancela and Carbon Police chief Doroteo Mantos came direct from Camp Crame, after the anti-illegal gambling task force conducted operations and seized illegal gambling machines in their respective areas.

Batanciela and Mantos were lately ordered to report directly to the office of Cebu City Police director Melvin Gayotin, who said that their relief were due to failure to curb gambling activities even if initial investigations showed the official's anti-gambling accomplishments.

Gayotin said he already submitted to Gador his request allowing Batiancela and Mantos to head momentarily other stations in the city due to lack of officials. If granted, Batiancela will be sent to head the San Nicolas police station while Mantos will go to the Guadalupe police station.

Gayotin hoped that their cases be given reconsideration but then he left it to the PRO-7 to have the final say in the investigation.

PRO-7 has been investigating the causes and reasons of their relief from their posts because, at the time of the operations, the task force had coordinated with the respective offices of these station chiefs, Gador said.

Based on the three-strike policy of PNP Chief Arturo Lomibao, the station chief will be relieved if the task force, operating independently on its own, finds and confiscates gambling machines in the area during three successive forays.

Gador however said that if that is the case, then it is not the police station chief alone who will be relieved from the post but also his superiors, the city director or the provincial director, and even the regional head.

If the current investigations over the relief of Batiancela and Mantos eventually reveal that it has no connection to illegal gambling in their areas of responsibility, then they will be ordered reinstated, said Gador.

Gador finally clarified that the relief of San Nicolas police station chief Anthony Obenza had nothing to do with the same PNP police but that Obenza's reassignment was direly needed at the regional headquarters. - Flor Z. Perolina