BIG CUTS | No Authorization Ordinance?

Well, now we have a feeling that Davaoenos, especially their political leaders, might be in some kind of celebratory mood. What with the departure of probably their “most hated” police commander in Southern Mindanao, Brig. Gen. Nicolas Torre 111.

By departure, we mean that Torre III has been transferred from his regional responsibility in the PNP to head a national unit of the police organization – the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) effective yesterday. Designated as his acting replacement is Brig. Gen. Victor Zamora Rosete. The order of Torre’s promotion in responsibility was signed by Lt. Gen. Jon Arnaldo, chief of the PNP Directorate of Staff, as approved by Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil, director general of the police.

What Brig. Gen. Rosete will do to restore the “strained” relationship between the officials of the local government of Davao City and the regional police office under Torre III to what is ideal will certainly be the most awaited development.

The tense relationship between the city leaders and the regional police office arose as a result of the immediate reform of the police office by Torre III. This reform led to a series of changes in the director of the city police and to the subsequent resignation of several police commanders and police personnel.

Relations appeared to deteriorate when the regional police director initiated the service of arrest warrants on then-fugitive Reverend Apollo C. Quiboloy right in the compound of his Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) church along the CP Garcia Diversion Highway.

Torre’s plan did not sit well with the leaders and members of the KOJC, as well as with city leaders who are known to be close friends of the pastor.

Now that Torre is out, Brig. Gen. Rosete will undoubtedly have to do a lot of fencing. That is, if he wants to pursue a better working relationship with the local government of Davao City.

Will Rosete succeed? Only time will tell. But we are sure that repairing a broken relationship could be one of his priorities. We hope he succeeds.

Personally, we expect Rosete’s first order of the day will be his courtesy call on Davao City Mayor Baste Duterte and his appearance before the city council. These two approaches will surely help him know who he will be working with during his service in the region and the city where the regional police headquarters is located.

Welcome to Davao City Brig. General Rosete. Your last name reminds us of a friend, then Philippine Army Colonel Douglas Rosete.

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So God used the police led by the then PNP Region XI director (now acting CIDG chief) as divine warriors to defeat the self-proclaimed “appointed” son of God? That is, if we believe in Torre III. Yes, we can’t blame the former regional police director if he is now basking in his success in flashing the former fugitive church leader. Reverend Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy has been evading the police net for several months now. No thanks to those who protected him and misled police investigators about his whereabouts.

But thanks to the persistence of the police in their search for the elusive leader of the KOJC and five of his trusted men and women, and the potentially hard-to-resist temptation of the 10 million peso reward for the pastor’s arrest, Torre eventually managed to obtain definitive information about the pastor’s hiding place – in the most unlikely place he could have taken refuge: a facility in his headquarters.

The Pastor’s arrest (or surrender if you prefer to call his eventual custody by law) triggered several alleged deeply held secrets of the cult leader. These include the coming out of some of his alleged victims of sexual exploitation, former members of the Pastor, including a deposed bodyguard who shared their alleged unwanted experiences while serving the church leader.

Their revelations about the Pastor were in stark contrast to what he presented himself as a preacher of the words of God, his ‘appointing’ (?) Father.

These could all be possible reasons why Torre was bold enough to claim that the police raids on the KOJC compound were used by God to prevent what they might consider to be “evil” committed by someone who does his thing by invoking the Almighty.

But whether we agree with the newly elevated police general or not, that is up to us. He may be right, or he may be wrong.

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We would like to congratulate our friend and former media colleague Tek Ocampo, now a councilor of the First District of Davao City, for finally realizing that the city has no ordinance that would make the operation of RA No. 7942 or the Philippine Mining Act of 1995 more effective. The national law governs the operation of the country’s mining sector, including quarries.

We wonder why it took the city council about 30 years to realize that the local government of Davao City has virtually no control over the quarrying industry in the city. This apparent ignorance of local authorities in the governance of the quarrying industry in the city is possibly the reason why illegal mining of aggregates, even in areas that should be prohibited by law, is being done without fail by both legal and illegal operators.

We can only hope that Councillor Tek’s committee can quickly assess his proposed measure and that the proposed local legislation is introduced in the plenary session of the council for deliberation. With an ordinance on this industry, further rape of the city’s quarries can be prevented.

We know that many Davaoños are aware that quarrying along the riverbanks and in the hills for the extraction of desired materials is one of the major causes of environmental degradation in the city, which has recently led to massive flooding in low-lying areas.

Or should council members wait until the floods become deluges before passing an ordinance that makes anything possible?

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