By Ben Balce
A COUNCILOR yesterday questioned the National Police for assigning officials to head the Cagayan de Oro City Police Office (Cocpo) without consulting Mayor Vicente Emano.
Councilor Adrian Barba said Emano was not consulted by police officials when Senior Supt. Raul Benitez was replaced by Senior Supt. Graciano Mijares as officer-in-charge of the Cocpo.
Benitez only served as acting police chief of the city in less than a week. He replaced another acting police director, Antonio Montalba, who retired yesterday.
“No consultation happened between the mayor and Camp Alagar regarding Benitez’s relief and Mijares’s takeover,” said Barba.
He said a rule provides that the mayor should choose among five candidates for police director in a list to be submitted by the police. In this case, there was none, according to Barba.
Councilor Roger Abaday said, “The National Police is apolitical, and Mijares is only following a legal order.”
The former police director in the region, Chief Supt. Gil Hitosis, said Mijares would only serve in an acting capacity and he can be replaced any time when the mayor chooses from a list provided there is a written approval from the elections commission.
“Let’s face it,” according to Hitosis, “mayors and their police chiefs usually develop a close working relationship.”
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