The chief of police of Cebu City, Col. Gemma Vinluan, has been relieved from her post pending the probe on the killing of Clarin, Misamis Occidental Mayor David Navarro.
“I issued [the] administrative [relief] of Police Colonel Gemma Vinluan, city director of Cebu City police office, to make her available [in] the investigation being conducted,” Central Visayas police chief Brig. Gen. Valeriano De Leon said.
On Friday, Navarro was killed while inside a police van on his way to the Cebu city prosecutor's office for inquest proceedings over an assault complaint.
Gunmen blocked the police convoy, ordered Navarro to get out of the vehicle, then shot the mayor dead, authorities said.
President Rodrigo Duterte already ordered the Philippine National Police to halt all its investigations on Navarro's ambush as he floated suspicions that the police themselves were involved in the killing.
President Duterte said the PNP should let the National Bureau of Investigation take over to ensure fairness.
“I’d like the NBI to have it. So it will be fair. I’d like to order PNP to terminate and hand it to the NBI whatever proof they had,” Duterte said.
“What did the PNP do? Maybe they were the ones who killed him. They’re the ones who were near him,” he added.
De Leon welcomed the President’s directive to turnover the probe to the NBI.
“It will provide a perception of impartial investigation sparing us of suspicion of possible whitewash. It will allow my organization and my personnel to focus on the more important functions of anti-criminality and protecting the communities from crime,” De Leon said.