PANGASINAN , Philippines – A petition for temporary restraining order (TRO) filed by the provincial government may yet serve as a wake-up call for concerned authorities to strictly adhere to the requirements of the law in appointing police officials, according to local officials.
The petition for TRO filed by Gov. Amado Espino Jr. sought to rectify an apparent oversight in the designation of Senior Superintendent Marlou Chan as provincial police director.
In his plea, Espino invoked Section 51 of Republic Act 6975, or the Department of the Interior and Local Government Law, which provides that the incumbent governor is granted the right to choose among three eligible officers recommended to the position of provincial police director.
Judge Caridad Villegas Galvez of the Regional Trial Court Branch 69 in Lingayen has reset to June 6 the hearing on the petition after Chan’s lawyer sought the attendance of lawyers from the Office of the Solicitor General.
Provincial legal officer Geraldine Baniqued expressed “full trust and confidence in the court that the case will be resolved in a most judicious manner.â€