The Davao City Police Office (DCPO) saw three chiefs in one day.

On Wednesday, July 10, 2024, Police Regional Office-Davao (PRO-11) Director Brigadier General Nicolas Torre III assigned Col. Lito Patay as officer-in-charge of DCPO at 8 a.m.

After three hours, Patay was relieved and replaced by Col. Sherwin Butil who served as the former chief of the Regional Information and Technology Management Division (RTEM).

In the evening, Butil was relieved after PRO-11 received a directive from PNP chief Police General Rommel Francisco Marbil to designate Col. Hansel Marantan as acting city director of DCPO.

“Later that evening, nigawas tong order ni Col. Marantan as Acting City Director. Ang nagpili sa officer-in-charge ang regional director. Ang nagpili kung kinsa ang acting city director ang national headquarters. Pero sa regular na mga process, si PRO 11 or regional director, muhatag jud na siya og pangalan sa city mayor. Siya ang mupili kung kinsa ang iyang gusto nga city director,” PRO-11 Spokesperson, Maj. Catherine Dela Rey, said.

Marantan was the chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group-National Capital Region (CIDG-NCR) before he was designated as DCPO acting director.

In April 2014, Marantan and 12 other policemen were dismissed from the police service for their involvement in the alleged Atimonan rubout in January 2013.

They were found guilty of irregularity in the performance of duty following the death of 12 people, including environmentalist Jun Lontok in what the respondents claimed as legitimate shootout against the suspects.

However, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) proved that the incident was a rubout.

Marantan was reinstated in 2017 after his appeal was granted by the Appellate Board of the National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM).

PRO-11 also explained that Torre reassigned the station commanders because the OIC does not have the power to designate and relieve station commanders.

“Mao nang ang pag-relieve sa mga station commander nanggikan kang RD,” Dela Rey said.

PRO-11 could not give reasons for the series of relief orders among DCPO officials.

“Wala koy mahatag nga detalye sa reason nganong ing ato ang nahitabo,” Dela Rey said.

Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte believed that the reassignment of DCPO personnel is motivated by politics, but the PNP denied this, according to a report by GMA News Online.

“Siguro, because of some political issues, nahahaluan po ng kulay po ito,” PNP Spokesperson, Colonel Jean Fajardo, said.