Relief looms for Valenzuela intel police chief whose memo on Maute went to social media
The chief of the intelligence branch of the Valenzuela Police Station may be relieved after a memorandum on a plan of the Maute Group to conduct bombings in Metro Manila spread in social media.
The memorandum, which was signed by Chief Inspector Jowi Louie Bilaro advised police community precinct commanders to take appropriate actions as the Maute Group were reportedly planning bombings in some malls and churches in Quezon City, Makati and Manila.
Chief Superintendent Roberto Fajardo, Northern Police District director, said the memorandum was based on raw information.
“Raw information. There are a lot in information that needs to be validated, but it turned negative,” he said.
“I will leave the decision to the chief of police, but my recommendation is for him to be relieved for violation of memo that should not be made public, that is his violation,” Fajardo said.
“What he did was right but his violation is how the memo was made public while it is still being investigated he will be relieved for the meantime,” he added.
In a statement, NCRPO Director Oscar Albayalde said he ordered Fajardo to investigate the Valenzuela Police Station on how they handle confidential documents.
“Today, a document allegedly from the Station Intelligence Branch of Valenzuela Police Station was circulated via Facebook, personal messages and other platforms, the spread was too fast that even before we confirmed its validity its already everywhere,” he said.
“Following this I have ordered the Northern Police District Director Bong Fajardo to investigate the document handling procedure at the Valenzuela Police Station,” he added.
Albayalde assured people information they receive were not being taken for granted and were being addressed appropriately.
“Related to the content, we assure the public that we do not take for granted any information reported to us. We process every information received and task our police on the ground to validate all these so we will be able to address any threat immediately and appropriately,” he said. Robina Asido/DMS
