Ben Madilynn
Duterte on Sunday, September 22, 2024, revealed in his “Basta Dabawenyo” podcast that the police office’s leadership has been overlooking his request about this matter, saying “They won’t listen to me.”
“Besides, I don’t know whose administration this is. They won’t listen to me… They put a city director [Col. Hansel Marantan] there, which means it’s under their command, not mine… Maybe they have a good explanation,” Duterte said.
He also emphasized that theft and robbery cases coincidentally surged after Brig. Gen Nicolas Torre III was appointed as the new director of the Police Regional Office-Davao Region (PRO-Davao), replacing Brigadier General Aligre Martinez, who was transferred to the Philippine National Police (PNP) Holding and Accounting Unit in Camp Crame, Quezon City.
“The police also know that it has really increased. So what can I say? It could be because of the adjustments they made since they appointed a new city director and since Torre arrived in July,” Duterte said, adding that at the recent City Peace and Order Council (CPOC) meeting, members have raised the same concern about the increase in crimes, particularly robbery.
The mayor also clarified that the data could not be generated by the CPOC because the records come directly from the DCPO.
DCPO’s Oplan RAT Tugis is aimed at putting identified criminals behind bars.
As of press writing, DCPO has yet to provide a statement. SunStar Davao has also reached out to DCPO spokesperson Captain Hazel Tuazon for further information but the official has yet to respond.
However, Tuazon previously disclosed to a Davao-based media reporter that she had attempted to obtain data from the investigative section regarding theft, robbery, and physical abuse but assured that the slight increase in theft incidents have been already solved by their agency. “Ang mga wala pa na solved, naa tay case conferences nga ginahimo para matagaan ug kasulbaran (For unsolved cases, we initiated case conferences to find a solution),” she added. DEF
