CEBU CITY -- Senior Superintendent Edgar Alan Okubo officially took over command of the Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO) on Friday after a simple turnover ceremony at the headquarters in Lahug, this city.
A member of the Philippine National Police Academy Class of 1992, Okubo is the erstwhile chief of the Regional Public Safety Battalion and former director of the Pangasinan Provincial Police Office in Region 1.
He replaced fellow Sr. Supt. Eric Noble, now the new police attaché of the Philippines in the United States.
Okubo said he will continue the fight against hard drugs with more intensity as he aims not just to keep up but to exceed the outstanding performance of Noble as CPPO chief.
The new chief also vowed to give more focus on internal cleansing and totally rid the CPPO of scalawags following the report that 36 of the 58 erring cops identified by the Police Regional Office (PRO-7) were CPPO officers.
PRO-7 Director Chief Supt. Jose Mario Espino, who witnessed the turnover, said Okubo needs to display the stuff he’s made of, knowing he has bigger shoes to fill.
According to Espino, the good leadership and performance of Noble is more than impressive and commendable, adding “Mahirap pakawalan if we have that kind of officer, but it’s also hard (for Noble) to refuse that kind of position.”
Espino said he gave Okubo the authority to cleanse his ranks of rogue officers and ordered him to continue the anti-illegal drugs campaign in the province, underscoring the PRO-7’s best performance rating in drug-demand reduction in the barangays.
“One of my directives to Sr. Supt. Okubo is to continue our relentless campaign against drugs, at the same time continue the project of Police Sr. Supt. Noble because this is where I’ve seen how active our campaign is in demand reduction,” Espino said.
“We tapped the NGOs to help us in the drug abuse education and rehabilitation programs,” he said.
“Second, (I ordered him) to continue to have more policeman on the streets. Particularly, this is now the ‘ber’ months. We are preparing our security forces pagdating ng December,” Espino added. (LBG/Michelle Bugtai/PNA)
