The Philippine National Police (PNP) announced a revamp on Monday, April 5, affecting 22 officials, including the Cordillera region’s police chief, Brigadier General R’win Pagkalinawan, who has been transferred to a staff position at Camp Crame.

Pagkalinawan is now with the PNP Directorate for Personnel Records and Management under the PNP Personnel Holding & Accounting Unit, the PNP said. The transfer order does not indicate his exact position in the unit.

Replacing him as the new Cordillera police chief is Police Brigadier General Ronald Lee.

The Cordillera police has been mired in controversies, one of which was Pagkalinawan’s shoot-to-kill order in January against Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CAP) Chairman Windel Bolinget, who is facing murder complaints. CAP denounced Pagkalinawan’s order, saying this “encourages violence and terrorism among the ranks of the police.”

On March 10, Pagkalinawan said he had already 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.  

More recently, a Baguio City court ordered the PNP Cordillera to temporarily stop all its red-tagging activities against progressive youth groups in the region.

Revamp

Another critical transfer involved Police Brigadier General Remus Medina, who was named to a command post – as director of PNP Drug Enforcement Group – after serving as senior executive assistant to PNP Chief Police General Debold Sinas. (Sinas returned to work on March 29 after a short medical leave due to COVID-19.)

Medina was among 18 other cops who were involved in Sinas’ controversial “mañanita” incident last year that broke quarantine protocols. Medina will oversee all anti-illegal drug operations and ensure the successful prosecution of drug-related cases.  

Medina was also with Sinas during the Taguig City fiasco when they were caught on camera allegedly harassing a family living in an old police compound on July 18, 2020. 

A PNP order dated April 4 showed that 22 police officials were affected by the revamp which took effect Monday.

This was largely triggered by the impending retirement of Police Major General Emmanuel Luis Licup, who until Monday was head of the Directorate for Comptrollership and is scheduled to retire on Friday, April 9.

The list includes:

• Police Brigadier General Randolf Balonglong from PNP Ilocos to the Office of the Chief PNP (OCPNP)
• Police Brigadier General Segundo Lagiwid from Directorate for Police Community Relations to PHAU, DPRM
• Police Brigadier General Alexander Sampaga from OCPNP to PNP Directorate for Information and Communications Technology Management (DICTM)
• Police Brigadier General Rodolfo Azurin from DICTM to Directorate for Comptrollership (DC)
• Police Brigadier General Erson Digal from Directorate for Logistics (DL) PHAU, DPRM
• Police Brigadier General Conrado Gongon from PNP Communications and Electronics Service (CES) to PHAU, DPRM
• Police Brigadier General Eden Ugale from OCPNP to PNP Bangsamoro
• Police Brigadier General Patrick Villacorte from PNP Western Visayas to CES
• Police Colonel Rudolph Dimas from PNP Calabarzon to PNP Western Visayas
• Police Colonel Emmanuel Hebron from NCRPO to PNP Calabarzon
• Police Colonel Enrique Magalona from Directorate for Integrated Police Operations-Western Mindanao to PNP Ilocos
• Police Colonel Marlou Martinez from Directorate for Investigation and Detective
• Management to PNP Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group (IMEG)
• Police Colonel Ramil Montilla from IMEG to Civil Security Group (CSG)
• Police Colonel Randy Peralta from CSG to OCPNP
• Police Colonel Salvador Alacyang from Anti-Kidnapping Group to PNP Eastern Visayas
• Police Colonel Fernando Ortega from NCRPO to OCPNP
• Police Colonel Edwin Wagan from PNP Eastern Visayas to DL

– With reports from Rambo Talabong/ Rappler.com