Cop chief quits over town illegal activities

By Mar T. Supnad

GERONA, Tarlac --With a heavy heart, the chief of police here has suddenly left his post to the surprise of many including the town mayor himself, raising suspicion among newsmen here that the top police quit due to the proliferation of illegal activities in this town.

Local newsmen here learned that Supt. Calixto Bamba recently sought personally his relief as town police chief here after a brief meeting with this town’s Mayor Dennis Go.

It was not known what transpired during their meeting but the town was buzzing with talk that Bamba quit his post for he could no longer bear the sprouting of illegal activities and quarrying in the town.

Sources said since the start of Bamba’s duty in this municipality, he had a hard time adjusting to the alleged rampant illegal activities in this town.

“In the past months, in a number of occasions, Bamba suffered lashing words from a top municipal official for no apparent reason,” said a source.

Newsmen learned that Bamba’s reason for requesting his relief stemmed from public pressures for him to act on the rampant violation of R.A. 8794 (overloading) where hundreds of trucks continued to haul illegally extracted quarry materials to the site of the ongoing construction of the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEX).

Republic Act 8794 penalizes “trucks and trailers for loading beyond their prescribed gross vehicle weight.”

Since the start of the TPLEX construction, newsmen learned hundreds of overloaded trucks delivering quarry materials to the site have wrought havoc and damaged concreted roads, thereby pressuring Bamba to apprehend these.

Bamba’s hands are tied, however, and cannot act due to harassment from a high municipal official.

Bamba was reportedly badmouthed by the top local official when he tried to implement the said R.A. 8794, prompting the top police official to quit his post.