MANILA, Philippines - Saying he is leaving without hatred or anguish, Senior Superintendent Erson Digal formally tendered his resignation as director of Cebu Provincial Police Office.
Yesterday afternoon, he handed over his resignation letter to Police Regional Office-7 director Chief Supt. Ager Ontog and Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia.
Digal thanked Garcia for the opportunity to serve the province as CPPO director for over a year.
Earlier, Garcia said she lost trust in Digal over the way he handles the investigation into the death of six-year-old Ellah Joy Pique.
“Dili ko ma-low morale tungod lang ani. We are just here in the regional office, we come and go. Dili ni maka-affect nako because this is part and parcel of our job as a police officer,” Digal told reporters.
“Nagpasalamat ko kang governor kay at least iya ko gitagaan og time na makatrabaho as provincial director, sa iyang pagtabang sa mga pulis especially sa whole province of Cebu. Wa ko’y regret. Mubiya ko na limpyo akong konsensya, wala koy hoku-pokus, wala ko’y hinanakit,” he said.
Ontog, for his part, considered Digal’s decision to relinquish his post a good move.
“We are weighing our relationship with the provincial government. We also do not want our personnel working but wala na’y support from the governor,” Ontog said.
He said Garcia’s reason for having Digal give up his position is a very valid one.
“Because the governor is responsible for the peace and order in the province and provincial director is one of her elements only. It is also her right to withdraw support,” Ontog said.
“Ganito dito sa PNP. Kahit ako pwede ma-assign bukas o sa susunod na araw. That is the life of a police officer. We are guided by our regulations,” Ontog added.
The PRO-7 director, however, brushed off speculations that the National Bureau of Investigation, which Garcia tapped to look into the Pique case, is competing with them.
“(NBI-7 Regional Director Edward) Villarta is my friend. Sa ngayon, walang competition sa investigation. We are all working under the aegis of the provincial task force,” Ontog said.
Asked how he would assess Digal’s performance, Ontog said Digal has done so much at the CPPO, especially in the campaign against criminality.
“He managed a very big province so well, one of the premier provinces in the country. A very difficult job you could say, but he has done so well,” the PRO-7 director said.
Camp Crame still has to look into Digal’s letter and the governor will choose among the three police officials submitted by PRO-7 to replace Digal.
Ontog clarified that since Digal is a third level officer, he could not vacate his post unless a police official with the same level replaces him.
Right thing to do
Garcia said that relieving Digal for withholding some information on their investigation is the right thing to do, warning any agency not to muddle the NBI investigation into Pique’s case.
She said she already gave Digal an option to resign until yesterday or she would submit a letter to Ontog requesting for his relief.
“I believed what I did was the right thing to do and it is not in favor to the couple. I am not aware that the PNP conducted own investigation and we want this to be solved to the soonest possible time,” Garcia said.
She said she wants to consult several sectors on her decision to choose among the names that Ontog would recommend to her as new CPPO director.
The governor said she would check on the track records of the recommended officials and would ask the media people, especially the police beat reporters, who are familiar with them.
Garcia said any agency should not muddle the NBI investigation since the public is getting confused about the facts being aired and published by the media.
“Crimes are not solved by media bleaches and press releases. What I want is to do the investigation in the most fair and just manner,” she said.
The result of the NBI investigation will be submitted to the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office.
“All of us want to know the truth and we hope and pray that truth will come through a thorough and complete investigation,” said Garcia, the chairman of the Inter-Agency Anti-Criminality Task Force.
Garcia said she did not know the real score in the incident until she met with Karen Esdrelon, 24, and Norwegian Sven Erik Berger, 47, the suspects in Pique’s abduction and killing.
The police have already filed a criminal complaint against the couple before the prosecutor’s office.
Garcia criticized Digal for not verifying the claims of the couple, prompting her to seek help from the NBI.
Task force
Police Regional Operations and Plans Division chief, Sr. Supt. Louie Oppus, said they have already created a task force that would help the CPPO investigate Pique’s case.
The task force, he said, is composed of the Scene of the Crime Operatives, Highway Patrol Group, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, Regional Investigation and Detective Management Division, police legal service, and the CPPO as the lead investigator.
LTO
Meanwhile, Land Transportation Office-7 Director Raul Aguilos released a list of Pajero vehicles bearing numeric sign 679.
But of the 264 Pajero vehicles, only nine are registered in Central Visayas. Of the nine vehicles, none was registered under the name of Karen Esdrelon or Sven Erik Berger.
Aguilos will submit the list to the PRO-7. - /LPM (FREEMAN)