DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 30 July) – Davao City Police Office (DCPO) acting director Colonel Hansel Marantan vowed to keep the annual celebration of the Kadayawan Festival “peaceful, orderly, and safe.”
Marantan made the pronouncement Thursday afternoon during the sendoff ceremony for Kadayawan’s security and safety cluster graced by city hall and police officials.
The city is celebrating the 39th Kadayawan Festival, a major tourism event, for the whole month of August.
Marantan said that Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte gave him the marching instruction to keep the Kadayawan Festival safe and secure for residents and tourists.
Duterte and Marantan met last July 25 at the Matina Enclaves.
“The mayor’s instruction is very clear – to protect the city and keep it safe for everyone,” Marantan told reporters.
Duterte did not show up during Thursday afternoon’s sendoff “due to other important matters.” He was represented by Angel Sumagaysay, head of the Public Safety and Security Office.
Sumagaysay challenged Marantan and the city’s civil security personnel to achieve “zero untoward incident” during the celebration of the month-long Kadayawan Festival.
Marantan assumed as acting DCPO director on July 10 in a bizarre city leadership reshuffle where three police officers took over command in a span of a single day.
Philippine National Police chief General Rommel Francisco Marbil assigned Marantan to the post.
Marantan previously served as “stable internal peace and security officer” for the Southern Luzon Police Command. He was implicated in the alleged Atimonan rubout in 2013 where 12 people were killed.
His assumption became controversial as he was installed allegedly without the approval of Duterte.
To recall, Col. Lito Patay assumed as city police director in the morning of July 10 but was replaced at noon by Col. Sherwin Butil, whom Marantan replaced in the evening of the same day.
Marantan said his fate if he will become the permanent city police director “will depend on the PNP higher ups and Duterte.”
Councilor Luna Acosta, chairperson of the Committee on Peace and Security, earlier said that a signature campaign gained ground last July 15 asking the removal of Marantan and the reinstatement of 19 station commanders relieved last July 8. She said that at least 1,000 people signed campaign.
Acosta had claimed the appointment of Marantan as acting city police chief violated Republic Act 6975 (or the Department of the Interior and Local Government Act of 1990), as amended through RA 8551 (also known as PNP Reform and Reorganization Act of 1998). (Ian Carl Espinosa / MindaNews)
She expounded that these laws “explicitly state that the city mayor has the authority to choose the chief of police from a list of five eligibles recommended by the PNP regional director, preferably from the same city, province, or municipality.” (Ian Carl Espinosa / MindaNews)
