ILOILO City – Two days before this year’s midterm elections, Colonel Bayani Razalan was relieved as the director of the Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO).
Lieutenant Colonel Arnel Solis, spokesperson of the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6), confirmed in an interview that Razalan’s relief order was officially received by their office on Saturday, May 10, and took effect the same day.
Despite the last-minute leadership change, PRO-6 assured the public that the transition will not affect law enforcement operations in the province.
“This is a standard personnel movement, and we are confident that our preparations for the midterm elections remain intact and fully operational,” Solis said.
Replacing Razalan as officer-in-charge of the IPPO was Colonel Roland V. Bulalacao, who currently serves as the chief of the Regional Staff at PRO-6.
A seasoned officer with years of experience in command and staff positions, Bulalacao immediately assumed his new role to oversee and manage election-related security operations across the province.
Razalan, meanwhile, was reassigned to the Regional Personnel Holding and Accounting Office of the PRO-6.
“Once again I would like to thank the Iloggos and Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. for trusting me, and the Iloilo media for the support and criticisms that help improved my performance,” he said.
Razalan served as IPPO chief for over a year and has excellent performance during his stint.
Among his big accomplishments were the seizure of 16 kilos of shabu worth P107 million and the arrest of 475 drug suspects in a year of operations.
The IPPO under his leadership also arrested 1,066 fugitives from 1,064 operations across the province. Of the number, 252 belonged to the top 10 most wanted list.
The IPPO also recovered a total of 807 loose firearms from 173 suspects: 201 through police operations, 451 surrendered, and 155 deposited.
Iloilo cops also apprehended 374 bet collectors and confiscated P135,000 in bet money from 146 operations./PN
