Cagayan Valley police head axed over jueteng

TUGUEGARAO CITY — The Philippine National Police relieved the police director of Cagayan Valley the other day, and at least five more regional directors and 10 provincial heads will suffer the same fate during the election period, according to a high-ranking PNP officer.

PNP Director Thompson Lantion, head of the directorate for police-community relations, served the relief order on Chief Superintendent Rowland Albano whose 10-month stint here had been marred with unabated jueteng operations in some parts of the region.

On orders of PNP chief Director General Leandro Mendoza, Chief Superintendent Dominador Resos, deputy director of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, took over the regional post.

The PNP announced yesterday that Albano was designated deputy director for operations of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO).

Lantion said there are at least five more regional police directors and 10 provincial police heads who will be relieved by the end of the month for their "unsatisfactory" performance. He, however, declined to name them.

Albano got the ire of the local Catholic hierarchy led by Bayombong Bishop Ramon Villena due to the failure of the regional police command to curb jueteng.

The illegal numbers game is reportedly still rampant in Santiago City and in other parts of Isabela and Cagayan, the seat of the regional police command.

Albano had relieved at least 15 municipal police chiefs for their failure to stamp out jueteng in their respective turfs during his 10-month stint as Cagayan Valley police director.

Villena had castigated Albano for having a lukewarm anti-jueteng campaign despite a covenant forged at Camp Crame among Albano, Mendoza and other high-ranking police officers last February.

Villena, co-chairman of the influential Bishops-Businessmen’s Conference, reportedly lobbied for Albano’s relief.