CCPO has new director

CEBU, Philippines — The Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) has a new commander effective yesterday afternoon.

Police Regional Office-7 chief Brigadier General Valeriano de Leon had named Police Colonel Engelbert Soriano as the new CCPO director.

Soriano replaced Col. Geovanie Maines who had been acting on concurrent capacity as deputy regional director for operations since the relief of former city director Col. Gemma Vinluan in October following the ambush of Clarin, Misamis Oriental mayor David Navarro.

Maines confirmed to The Freeman that Soriano had replaced him as acting CCPO director effective yesterday afternoon. Soriano rose to being a commissioned officer via lateral entry in 1996.

He was previously assigned as chief of the regional operations division at PRO-7, a position previously held by Col. Arnel Banzon, Cebu City Mayor Edgar Labella’s personal choice for CCPO director.

Prior to his assignment at PRO-7, Soriano used to be the provincial director of Aurora Provincial Police Office. (FREEMAN)