TURNOVER OF COMMAND. Brig. Gen. Alfredo Ignatius Ferro, regional police director of Central Visayas (third from left), officiates a simple turnover of command ceremony on Thursday afternoon (May 28, 2020) at Camp Francisco Fernandez, Jr. in Agan-an, Sibulan, Negros Oriental. The new OIC provincial police director, Col. Arnel Banzon, (right) assumed post, replacing Col. Julian Entoma (left), who will be retiring from service on Aug. 28. (Photo courtesy of Negros Oriental Provincial Police Office)
DUMAGUETE CITY – The new officer in charge (OIC) provincial police director of Negros Oriental, Col. Arnel Banzon, officially assumed office Thursday afternoon, replacing Col. Julian Entoma who is retiring from the service in August this year.
Brig. Gen. Alfredo Ignatius Ferro, chief of the Police Regional Office-7 (Central Visayas), presided over the simple turnover ceremony at the Negros Oriental Provincial Police Office (NOPPO) at Camp Fernandez in Agan-an, Sibulan town.
Banzon sits as OIC provincial police chief as the Philippine National Police (PNP) is expected to send Gov. Roel Degamo a list of three nominees for the position, from which he has to make his choice.
Banzon was the chief of the Regional Investigation Detective and Management Division of PRO-7 prior to his transfer to the Negros Oriental top police post.
Entoma had served for about seven months in the province since he assumed office in October 2019. He is up for mandatory retirement on his 56th birthday on Aug. 28 and is now officially on non-duty status.
In an interview, he assured the people of Negros Oriental that he will be helping Banzon in the ongoing investigation on the murder of broadcast journalist Cornelio Pepino, also known as Rex Cornelio, last May 5.
Entoma was head of the joint Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) Cornelio, which the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMs) had directed to leave no stone unturned in its probe.
With Banzon now taking over the task group, Entoma said he will still be working with them on the case.
Pepino is the 3rd media practitioner in Negros Oriental to be killed in the past three years.
Edmund Sestoso was gunned down in 2018, while Dindo Generoso was shot dead in 2019. All three of them were radio commentators. (PNA)
