Former Pasay City Police chief P/Col. Noel Flores has taken over the reins of the Caloocan City Police from P/Col. Restituto Arcanghel, whose designation lasted for one year and four months.
The appointment of Col. Flores was confirmed by Caloocan City Mayor Oscar “Oca” Malapitan in an interview with reporters during the blessing and inauguration of the more than 6,000-square meter People’s Park located at the back of the New Caloocan City Hall on Wednesday evening.
Malapitan said the three-month temporary appointment of Col. Flores as the city chief of police will be evaluated.
If the mayor is not contented with his performance, the Philippine National Police will submit names of eligible officers to his office for his selection, which Malapitan said was his legal right under Republic Act 6975 or the Department of the Interior and Local Government Act of 1990.
However, the city chief executive said he already gave his marching order to Col. Flores to continue Caloocan’s intensified campaign against illegal drugs, illegal gambling and other forms of criminality.
“I told him I don’t want video karera, tupada (illegal cockfighting), no ‘borrowing’ of drug suspects because we will ensure they will be punished,” Malapitan said.
The mayor added that although they wanted to have a separate police district to increase their police force from 1,200 to 3,000, they cannot move on because of constant replacement of their city police chief.
He said they need to build 12 Police Community Precincts to comply with the requirement stated under the law to make a city a separate district but after less than a year, their city police chief, who is required to study the plan, will be replaced.
Malapitan added that even their plan to build a new police headquarters at the North Caloocan after a fire razed the old one in Sangandaan was put on hold since the fund amounting to P14 million allocated by the PNP was insufficient.
He said the city government is willing to shoulder the deficiency, but a lot of process in needed to carry out the plan.