Davao City councilors on Tuesday said Philippine National Police chief PGen Rommel Marbil may have misinterpreted the law that established the PNP – Republic Act 6975, especially Section 26, in directly appointing Davao City Police Office directors without the city mayor’s approval.
This observation surfaced after Police Regional Office 11 director Brigadier General Nicolas D. Torre III, during the inquiry by the Sangguniang Panlungsod on the serial appointments of DCPO chiefs, cited the law.
Torre admitted that The appointment of Davao City’s acting police director Colonel Hansel Marantan was the sole discretion of the PNP Chief under the powers provided in Section 26 of Republic Act 6975, being an ex-officio member of the National Police Commission or Napolcom.
Davao City Councilor Diosdado Mahipus Jr. said that reading Section 26, no appointing power was given to the PNP Chief.
“I was reading Section 26, it was about “tactical and strategic movements” It does not speak of authority to appoint. I was reading Section 51 and it was very specific that the authority to appoint belongs to the local chief executive as deputized by the commission to indeed appoint the city director in our city,” Mahipus said.
He underscored that the authority to appoint by the mayor was also not withdrawn either.
During the inquiry, Torre also explained that Marantan was appointed in an acting capacity, which is just temporary but can be more than 30 days, unlike in the case of an Officer-In-Charge which cannot last beyond 30 days.
The police regional director also said Marantan’s appointment may need the affirmation of the local chief executive.
In case the mayor will not affirm Marantan, Torre said that they will have to pursue options such as the designation of another person and conduct negotiation meetings to come up with a common decision, which will be mutually accepted.
“We will cross the bridge when we get there, we’ll be waiting for the letter of the mayor and we have options regarding the matter,” Torre said. He later emphasized that the PNP will not be able to insist on what will not be acceptable to the local government.
Councilor Jesus Joseph Zozobrado said that Napolcom is not the ex-officio officer alone but a body that chooses nominees through votation and deliberation after qualifications are checked. He urged that proper process should be followed as it is clearly stated in the law that it is the Napolcom, that has the initial say on the submission of a list of five officers, from which the DCPO chief will be selected by the mayor.
Mahipus on the other hand called on the Napolcom to review the process so that the sudden appointments will not happen in the future and that the people of Davao will be relieved of unnecessary anxieties.
Meanwhile, Marantan who was also present in Tuesday’s session, said that it is a challenge for him to get the acceptance of the people. CIO
