By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Police Regional Office-6 (PRO-6) director, Police Brigadier General Rene Pamuspusan, yesterday provided an explanation as to why Murcia municipal police chief, Police Major Roberto Indiape, was relieved of duty. The regional police official said the move came after the town police chief was unable to discuss the local situation with regard to illegal drugs.
Pamuspusan said he issued a warning to all police chiefs in the region two days prior to be ready to discuss the situation with illegal drugs in their respective jurisdictions. In addition, he also affirmed it was a “surprise visit” to the Murcia Municipal Police Station when he found the station dirty with laundry and pillows strewn all over the station’s finance office.
“Police chiefs should prioritize maintaining their backyard first,” Pamuspusan said. “If they can’t discipline their own members and they do not know what are their targets, then what is your right to become chief of police in the area?”
The PRO-6 director said maintaining cleanliness inside a station is a must, with all documents properly filed and all logistical services organized. He further pointed out, in his own opinion, “Maintaining a station is easy.”
The law enforcement official added, if a police chief is unable to maintain that, they are not a good police chief.
Meanwhile, Pamuspusan said Indiape’s relief should serve as a warning to other police chiefs not only in Negros Occidental but across the region.
When asked if he would seek administrative charges, Pamuspusan said he would not pursue it and that relief is enough to serve as a warning.
Indiape has since been replaced by Police Major Robert Dejucos./DGB, WDJ