The chief of police of the EB Magalona Police Station in Negros Occidental was relieved from his post Saturday, May 15, following a surprise inspection by the regional director of the National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM) in Western Visayas.
Col. Romy Palgue, provincial police director, confirmed Sunday, May 15, that Lt. John Paul Tabujara, EB Magalona police chief, was transferred to the Personnel Holding and Accounting Unit of the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Police.
An investigation of the EB Magalona police, including the six duty personnel, is underway, he said.
Under its standard operating procedure, the chief of police or his deputy should always be present at the police station.
Both were not around when NAPOLCOM Region 6 director Joseph Celis arrived for a surprise inspection Friday night, May 14.
“The chief of police said that his deputy asked if he could not go to work as he was not feeling well. The chief of police should have been there,” Palgue said.
The top police leadership is constantly reminding the men to be always “on alert” while on duty, Palgue said.
Celis, who was making the rounds of police stations in Negros Occidental on Friday, said in a Facebook post that when he arrived at the EB Magalona Police Station at 11:03 p.m., there was “no desk officer and sentinel.”
“It took five minutes for one policeman to wake up,” Celis said, adding that three others were still fast asleep. Literally, they were not performing their duties. There was no Official Duty Detail Order issued, he said.
The police station was dirty and smelled of urine, he added.
The old unserviceable police vehicle was also blocking the other passageway and the gates were just open, he added.
In another Facebook post, Celis claimed that the policemen woke up after he had waited 15 minutes.
“They woke up when I was already waiting in the premises of the station,” Celis said. They were in civilian clothes and put on their uniforms, he said.
The other policemen were absent abandoning their posts. The chief of police and his deputy were not around, Celis also said.
Following the incident, the EB Magalona policemen cleaned their police station as shown on their Facebook post.
Capt. Eric Doronilla took over the post vacated by Tabujara.*