PNP revamp over jueteng extends to Cagayan Valley

TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan — For their supposed failure to stamp out jueteng in their respective turfs, the police directors of each of the Cagayan Valley provinces are finding themselves being relieved from their posts.

The regional police revamp began last Monday with the relief of Superintendent Manuel de los Santos, who was replaced by Superintendent Pedro Cuntapay.

Today, Senior Superintendent Robert Mangaccat is scheduled to take over the Nueva Vizcaya police command, replacing Superintendent Ruben Catabona, who has been under fire from the provincial leadership and the local Catholic Church for his alleged failure to stamp out illegal gambling.

Mangaccat, fresh from an assignment in Region 8, made a courtesy call on Nueva Vizcaya Gov. Luisa Lloren-Cuaresma the other day.

Catabona and Mangaccat both hail from Bayombong, the capital town of Nueva Vizcaya.

Catabona took over the provincial police command as officer-in-charge last March 5. However, the local Catholic Church, led by Bayombong Bishop Ramon Villena, promised to work for his permanent appointment if he would be able to rid the province of illegal gambling.

But even with Catabona at the helm, jueteng continued to proliferate across the province, prompting the local Church hierarchy to criticize him for his supposed weak leadership.

Catabona also got the ire of Cuaresma for failing to carry out her directive to make the landlocked province jueteng-free.

The Philippine National Police (PNP), however, said Catabona was replaced only as part of normal procedures since he was only an officer-in-charge, replacing Senior Superintendent Felix Caddali who had retired.

The two other provincial police directors reportedly on the chopping board are Senior Superintendents Napoleon Estilles and James Melad, police directors of Isabela and Cagayan, respectively.

Like in Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino, jueteng still exists in some parts of Isabela and Cagayan.

However, Chief Superintendent Jefferson Soriano, Cagayan Valley police director, would neither confirm nor deny the reported imminent relief of Melad and Estilles.

"I don’t know about it," he said.

For his part, Melad, who took over the Cagayan police office barely two months ago, said he has yet to receive any word on his supposed impending relief.

Only Batanes is reportedly spared from the regionwide police revamp since it is the only known jueteng-free province in Cagayan Valley.