A quarter of the total strength of the Police Regional Office Western Visayas (PRO-6) will now serve under the newly-created Negros Island Region (NIR).

PRO-6 Regional Director Brigadier General Jack Wanky said yesterday, these PRO-6 personnel include those currently serving at the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office and the Bacolod City Police Office.

“Probably its [service transfer’s] impact is on the management. We will be unburdened as far as our administration of PNP [Philippine National Police] personnel is concerned because there will be another regional office in NIR,” he said in an interview, without disclosing how many police officers will be covered by the transfer.

The police official said those covered by the transfer of service are around 3,250 or 25 percent of PRO-6’s around 13,000 police officers.

The NIR was originally created through Executive Order (EO) 183, signed by then President Benigno Aquino III in 2015, but repealed by his predecessor, former President Rodrigo Duterte, through EO 38 in 2017.

On June 13, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. signed Republic Act 12000, or the Negros Island Region Act.

PRO-6 spokesperson Lt. Colonel Arnel Solis said they have no idea yet what would happen to personnel assigned in Iloilo and to the training center, which is based in Negros Occidental.

In the meantime, PNP chief General Rommel Francisco Marbil is expected to lead the activation of four police stations, tentatively set on July 2.

The additional stations bring to 10 the total stations under the Iloilo City Police Office.

The police stations are based at the I-CARE Tanza Esperanza for Police Station (PS) 7, Bo. Obrero for PS 8, Uswag Youth Center in M.H. Del Pilar in Jaro for PS 9, and at the Iloilo Convention Center in Mandurriao for PS 10. (PNA)