
Members of different militant groups troop to the Philippine National Police headquarters in Camp Crame, Quezon City on Wednesday. The protesters condemned the bloody dispersal of drought-hit farmers and their supporters in Kidapawan, Cotabato province last Friday.(MNS photo) KIDAPAWAN CITY (PNA) – The Philippine National Police Region 12 (PNP–12) has relieved two of its top police officers in North Cotabato province concomitant to the controversial April 1 dispersal of thousands of protesting farmers who blockaded the segment of the Cotabato – Davao highway here to stage their plight on the harsh effects of the drought-spawned El Niño phenomenon. The protesting peasants withheld traffic flow along the highway for four days prior to the chaotic dispersal that claimed the lives of two farmers and wounding of over a hundred peasants and anti-riot cops alike. P/Sr. Supt. Danilo Peralta, administrative head of PNP – 12, confirmed Friday the relief of P/Sr. Supt. Alexander Tagum as the provincial director and P/Supt. John Calinga as Kidapawan police director. The relief order stemmed from the law enforcement operation currently being investigated by the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights. Peralta stressed that such directive is a standard operating procedure to any officer that will undergo investigation. The same order stipulated that P/Supt. Jose Briones, concurrent provincial police operations chief, would seat as North Cotabato police officer-in-charge while P/Supt Noel Kinazo, provincial police office deputy chief for administration, acts as Calinga’s replacement. Both Tagum and Calinga are mandated to submit themselves to the ongoing investigation, Read More …