No replacement yet for Col. Marantan as Davao police chief
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 10 July) — There is still no permanent replacement for Col. Hansel Marantan as Davao City Police Office (DCPO) director 10 days after he went on leave.
Capt. Hazel Caballero Tuazon, DCPO spokesperson, said in a press conference at Royal Mandaya Hotel Wednesday morning that they have not received advice yet from Camp Crame who will be installed as city director.
Marantan told reporters on the sidelines of the city council session on June 17 that he already filed a leave of absence as he “want[ed] to rest” due to health reasons, emphasizing that he has “52 metal screws in [his] body… a total knee replacement, a titanium spine, and a hearing problem.”
Col. Mariano Rodriguez, Police Regional Office – Region XI (PRO-XI) deputy regional director for administration, took over the DCPO as “officer-in-charge” since June 30.
There was no formal turnover ceremony following Marantan’s departure.
Tuazon said that despite the transition, DCPO continues with its programs on war on drugs, running after persons with warrants of arrest, as well as those involved in illegal gambling and those with loose firearms.
During interview with local radio station iFM Davao, Tuazon said that the new police chief will possibly be named “this week or next week.”
When asked if the next permanent city director would be someone from Davao City, Marantan told reporters last month: “I’m not sure. I have recommended names, but it’s the command that will choose what’s good for Davao City.”
He added that he had named five officers for the position.
Marantan, who was previously posted at the Area Police Command for Southern Luzon, was assigned as acting city police director after a reshuffle on July 10, 2024 that saw three police officers sitting as DCPO chief in one day.
Meanwhile, acting city Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte said he still has no control in the selection of the city’s police chief back on June 18, when Marantan filed his leave of absence.
Duterte acknowledged that with the falling-out between the Dutertes and the Marcoses, who were allies in the presidential elections in 2022, it would be impossible that he would have a say in the selection of the city’s police chief.
“Under the law, the city mayor should be allowed to choose kung sino yung city director niya. And probably that won’t happen,” he said in a press conference last month livestreamed over SMNI News. “That’s impossible. They will never allow it,” he added.
He noted that last year, the Philippine National Police command changed the city’s police director three times within a day without consulted him. (Ian Carl Espinosa / MindaNews)
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