BEHIND THE SCENES

Alfred P. Dizon
Gen. Pestano’s priorities, top men in the Cordillera

Chief Supt. Orlando Pestano, the newly-designated Cordillera regional police director struck me as a humble and unassuming person during his first press conference Tuesday in Camp Dangwa, Benguet. Some of our peers said he looked and talked kindly like a pastor.

The conference was held at the log cabin, built on initiative of former Philippine National Police chief Director General Lomibao when he was then Cordillera police director. Branded by Manila media a Euro General, Pestano said he didn’t mind the tag. He said he didn’t go with the Philippine police contingent to the USSR where a hefty sum of money was confiscated from the group. The money came from his former office, he admitted, but it was returned already to the coffers of the Philippine National Police.

The investigation on the case is ongoing, he said, so with the media’s indulgence, maybe comments could be made after the probe. First in Pestano’s action plan is intensifying the regional PNP’s drive against illegal drugs and firearms.
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The campaign against illegal gambling like jueteng would go on and kubradors would be arrested, he said. “We understand during this economic crisis, people resort to illegal gambling hoping they would win. As to the kubradors, it is livelihood for them. But then, laws are laws and we have to implement these.”

On victims of “salvagings” or disappearances like that of activist James Balao, Pestano said, he would evaluate these cases to determine who are culpable. Balao was snatched by men, believed to be from the military in Barangay Tomay, La Trinidad, Benguet late last year. His family is still looking for him.
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The new men Pestano is bringing with him are police officers I knew years ago when I was still a young reporter. They are still the amiable breed of police officers who greet you when they see you.

Senior Supt. Alexander Pumecha, my kababayan from Bontoc, Mountain Province was yanked out from his post as Abra police director to head the regional police office’s intelligence department.

Senior Supt. Samuel Diciano, former operations director of the Ilocos regional police will now head the operations department of Cordillera regional police. Diciano held a sensitive post in the Cordillera regional police before he was transferred to the Ilocos. Now he is back in the region. “Nine years din akong nawala dito sa Cordillera,” he said.

Then there were Senior Supt. Villamor Bumanglag who would now hold post as director for administration and Senior Supt. Ernest Gaab who now heads the regional police’s Traffic Management Group.

Gaab was a former classmate of mine at the former Baguio Colleges Foundation and since I was in a hurry, I was not able to talk to him and Senior Supt. Bacquian. The last time we had a chat with Bacquian was over some spirits in Apayao, some years ago when he was then the province’s police director. I went there at that time with Ramon Dacawi, March Fianza, Delmar Carino and Jorge Pawid as speakers during the Cordillera Department of Education’s regional press conference.

Diciano was asking me after the press conference if I was running as officer of the Camp Dangwa Press Corps since the group was holding their election after the press con. I told him I wasn’t since I was not a member of the group.

I told Pestano I had to leave since I had an appointment at 1 p.m. He was insistent I join them for lunch but then, appointments are appointments so I thanked him for the occasion. Outside, Pumecha also asked me the same question of running so I told the same answer prompting Bumanglag to say I was not running since I was “disappeared.”

What he wanted to say, I guess, was he didn’t see me at Camp Dangwa the past years attending press conferences or media affairs. This paper demanded a lot of attention in management those years until now. I guess, I just have to squeeze the time to catch up with news sources, some of whom I haven’t seen for quite some time.