Cebu City’s Osmeña gets police powers back

Ryan Macasero

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

Cebu City’s Osmeña gets police powers back
While Osmeña is expected to get his police powers back, the National Police Commission's Vice Chairman Rogelio Casurao says 30 other local executives will lose theirs

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Nearly a month after revoking the deputation powers of Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña over the city’s police force, the National Police Commission (Napolcom) reversed its decision.

Napolcom Vice Chairman and Executive Director Rogelio Casurao told Bombo Radyo Cebu in an interview that they were in the process of restoring Osmeña’s deputation. (READ: Cebu City mayor stripped of supervision powers over police)

Napolcom did not share exactly what convinced them to reverse their decision. 

“We understand each other now. There is nothing like talking it out,” Casurao said in the same radio interview. He was in Cebu City to meet with Police Regional Office Director for Central Visayas Chief Superintendent Noli Taliño.

The tension between Osmeña and the local police began on July 4, when regional and local police in Cebu were replaced upon orders from Philippine National Police (PNP) Director General Ronald dela Rosa. This was despite Osmeña’s request for more time to work with former Region 7 Director Patrocinio Comendador and CCPO Director Benjamin Santos. 

“He personally told me that he would give them 90 days. I said, ‘Okay, that’s fair enough,'” Osmeña said. “Then he changed it to 30 [days] without warning. I tried calling him after that. No response.”

The Napolcom memorandum issued on August 10 read: “Instead of supporting the pronouncement of the Chief Executive, Mayor Tomas Osmeña as local chief executive and deputized representative of the commission in Cebu City decided to withdraw all support to the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO).”

Osmeña was aggressive in giving rewards to police who killed or arrested drug personalities before the local chiefs were reshuffled. During his previous term as mayor between 2001 and 2010, he would often draw comparisons to former Davao City Mayor and current President Rodrigo Duterte for his tough anti-drug and anti-crime campaigns. (READ: Cebu City: Mayor Osmeña, who ‘inspired’ vigilante killings, is back)  

The mayor said keeping Santos and other police officials he trusted was important in his strategy in going after top drug lords in his city.

But when his requests were not granted, Osmeña stopped giving rewards and allowances to new police officers and withheld releasing new police vehicles to the CCPO.

Dela Rosa said in a radio interview last August that he had transferred one of Osmeña’s favored police colonels to the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) because he was allegedly on the payroll of suspected drug lord Franz Sabalones. Osmeña denied having a police colonel with links to drug lords. (READ: Osmeña challenges Dela Rosa: Name the ‘trusted police colonel)

Personal grudge?

While the final decision on revoking deputation was signed by the national office, the initial investigation came from Napolcom’s Region 7 office, headed by Central Visayas Director Homer Cabaral.

Osmeña hinted that a personal grudge with Cabaral may have been the reason for the memorandum revoking his deputation powers.

“Let me tell you something about Cabaral. His wife ran for Barangay Captain in Duljo Fatima and I did not support her,” Osmeña told reporters last August.

Local media asked Osmeña if Cabaral had an axe to grind with Osmeña. “Well, I’m just questioning it,” the mayor responded.

Cabaral told Rappler in a text message that he would not object to re-deputizing Osmeña. “All is well that ends well. I look forward to our leaders uniting against our common enemy, which is crime. There is no substitute for a good relationship among our public servants. If pride is the mother of sins, the antidote is humility,” he said.

‘Is it a crime?’

Osmeña explained his side on not giving incentives and allowances to new police officers: “Why would you give a reward to a new police officer? He’s new, he didn’t do anything. Because I don’t give him a reward, I’ll be punished?”

On not releasing police cars, Osmeña said, “is that a crime?”

He explained: “This is my logic. If they say, ‘Mayor Osmeña, give me your cell phone’, and I don’t give it, then they can punish me?” He added, “They’re not the owners of it.”

While the memorandum criticized Osmeña for “withdrawing support” of the police, Osmeña said that “not releasing” something they never had was different from “withdrawing.”

After Osmeña’s deputation was revoked, his 3 security escorts were also re-assigned because the request was not made to Dela Rosa. (READ: Osmeña’s security escorts moved to Bohol)

Cebu City North District Representative Raul Del Mar, an ally of Osmeña, had written Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Ismael Sueño asking him to restore power over the police.

Attached to the letter was a House Resolution asking the committee on local government to investigate Napolcom’s memorandum.

While the power to revoke deputation of local officials is normally reserved for the President under Republic Act 6975 passed in 1990, an amendment to the law passed under Republic Act 8551 in 1998 allows Napolcom to revoke deputation in consultation “with the provincial governor or congressman concerned.”

But neither of Cebu City’s congressmen, who are both Osmeña’s allies, were consulted prior to the issuance of the memorandum. Although Cebu City serves as the capital of Cebu, it is administered independently from the province.

“It was a misunderstanding,” Osmeña told Rappler in a text message. He said, “The report filed by Napolcom-7’s director was blatantly false. I never pulled out the city owned vehicles from the police. In fact, the city still has over 100 vehicles with the police.” 

While Osmeña would get his deputation powers back, Casurao said in the same interview with Bombo Radyo Cebu that 30 other mayors would have their deputation powers revoked. “The order was signed on Friday [September 2] and would be served in the coming days,” he said in Filipino.

Daanbantayan Mayor Vicente Loot, a retired police general, also had his deputation powers revoked by Napolcom last August 12. This was due to his name being included among 5 active and retired police generals accused of being protectors of drug lords by Duterte. – Rappler.com

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Nobuhiko Matsunaka

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Ryan Macasero

Ryan covers social welfare for Rappler. He started at Rappler as social media producer in 2013, and later took on various roles for the company: editor for the #BalikBayan section, correspondent in Cebu, and general assignments reporter in the Visayas region. He graduated from California State University, East Bay, with a degree in international studies and a minor in political science. Outside of work, Ryan performs spoken word poetry and loves attending local music gigs. Follow him on Twitter @ryanmacasero or drop him leads for stories at ryan.macasero@rappler.com