Saturday, April 10, 2021

Controversial Cordillera police director replaced

Following kill order, ‘tokhang’ vs media, leftists 

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – The Cordillera now has a new police director after the Philippine National Police announced a revamp on April 5, affecting 22 officials, including Cordillera police chief, Brig. Gen. R'win Pagkalinawan, who was transferred to a staff position at Camp Crame.
    Brig. Gen. Ronald Oliver Lee, former chief of the PNP Drug Enforcement Group assumed the post as chief of Cordillera region police last week.
    From the Office of the PNP Chief, Brig. Gen. Remus Medina took over the PNP Drug Enforcement Group vacated by Lee.
Pagkalinawan is now with PNP Directorate for Personnel Records and Management under the PNP Personnel Holding & Accounting Unit, the PNP said.
    The transfer order did not indicate his exact position in the unit. Pagkalinawan is due to retire next month.
    The Cordillera police has been mired in controversies, one of which was Pagkalinawan's shoot-to-kill order in January against Cordillera Peoples Alliance chairman Windel Bolinget, who is facing murder complaints in Mindanao which the militant group said were trumped up as he had never been in the area.
    The CPA denounced Pagkalinawan’s order, saying this "encourages violence and terrorism among the ranks of the police.”
    On March 10, Pagkalinawan said he lifted the shoot-to-kill order. 
    Last year, Pagkalinawan was also caught on CCTV camera strolling in front of a house that was the subject of a property dispute armed with a rifle and in civilian clothes.  
    Recently, a Baguio City court ordered the PNP Cordillera to stop all its red-tagging activities against progressive youth groups in the region.
    Pagkalinawan had also ordered regional police to conduct ‘tokhang’ against media personalities and leftists but the Regional Peace and Order Council ordered it junked after the Baguio City Council conducted public hearing on the matter wherein lawyers, religious and progressive and groups assailed it.
    They said ‘tokhang’ was unconstitutional, abusive, lacked due process, among others.  
    This, as a PNP order dated April 4 showed 22 police officials were affected by the revamp which took effect Monday.
    This was triggered by the impending retirement of Police Maj. Gen. Emmanuel Luis Licup, who until Monday was head of the Directorate for Comptrollership and retired on April 9.
    The list includes:
Brig. Gen. Randolf Balonglong from PNP Ilocos to the Office of the Chief PNP (OCPNP)
Brig. Gen. Segundo Lagiwid from Directorate for Police Community Relations to PHAU, DPRM
Brig. Gen. Alexander Sampaga from OCPNP to PNP Directorate for Information and Communications Technology Management (DICTM)
Brig. Gen. Rodolfo Azurin from DICTM to Directorate for Comptrollership (DC)
Brig. Gen. Erson Digal from Directorate for Logistics (DL) PHAU, DPRM
Brig. Gen. Conrado Gongon from PNP Communications and Electronics Service (CES) to PHAU, DPRM
Brig. Gen. Eden Ugale from OCPNP to PNP Bangsamoro
Police Brigadier General Patrick Villacorte from PNP Western Visayas to CES
Col. Rudolph Dimas from PNP Calabarzon to PNP Western Visayas
Col. Emmanuel Hebron from NCRPO to PNP Calabarzon
Col. Enrique Magalona from Directorate for Integrated Police Operations-Western Mindanao to PNP Ilocos
Col. Marlou Martinez from Directorate for Investigation and Detective
Management to PNP Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group (IMEG)
Col. Ramil Montilla from IMEG to Civil Security Group (CSG)
Col. Randy Peralta from CSG to OCPNP
Col. Salvador Alacyang from Anti-Kidnapping Group to PNP Eastern Visayas
Col. Fernando Ortega from NCRPO to OCPNP
Col. Edwin Wagan from PNP Eastern Visayas to DL
– With reports from Rambo Talabong/ Rappler.com

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