MARAWI CITY (MindaNews / 6 July) – Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana considered the reassignment to Marawi City of two police officers accused of beating up suspected violators of an ordinance in Mandaluyong City a bad move.
Speaking in a press briefing here on Thursday, Lorenzana said PO1s Jose Tandog and Chito Enriquez are not the kind of police officers needed for the job of fighting the Maute Group.
Tandog and Enriquez were caught on video hitting with a stick people who were arrested for drinking in public. They were sent to Marawi on Wednesday.
Lorenzana said sending to Marawi problematic people would only create problems to the commanders on the ground.
But Philippine National Police chief Director Ronald dela Rosa, who was also present during the briefing, saw nothing wrong in his decision to send Tandog and Enriquez to Marawi.
Addressing a reporter, he said he can guarantee that the reassignment will make them “the best cops they can ever become.”
He said that while he respected Lorenzana’s opinion, “I also have my own opinion.”
“I challenge kayo mga media, makipagpustahan sa akin, kung magmaoy pa iyan (I challenge the media, let’s bet on it, if they would still go amok),” he added.
Earlier this year, the PNP had sent police officers suspected of wrongdoing to Basilan.
Various sectors criticized the move, saying Mindanao has become a dumping ground of misfits in the service. (H. Marcos C. Mordeno/MindaNews)
