DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/June 17) — Eleven months after city councilors questioned his appointment after the chaotic process of assigning chiefs of the Davao City Police Office, Col. Hansel Marantan has now received a commendation from the city council “for his dedicated service with professionalism and integrity.

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The Sangguniang Panlungsod passed a resolution commending Marantan’s service in the DCPO through Councilor Conrado Baluran.

Marantan, who was previously posted at the Area Police Command for Southern Luzon, was assigned as acting city police director after a reshuffle on July 10, 2024 that saw three police officers sitting as DCPO chief in one day.

He paid a courtesy visit at the city council Tuesday afternoon.

The city police chief said he “wants to rest” due to health reasons, specifically that he has “52 metal screws in [his] body… a total knee replacement, a titanium spine, and a hearing problem.”

He added he already filed a leave of absence with a “90-percent chance” of being granted.

In his presentation before the city council, he said that under his watch, the city recorded “zero terrorist attacks and zero election-related crimes.”

Marantan added that he visited the city’s far-flung areas, to as far as Pegulangan in Barangay Malamba, a hinterland village about an hour and 40 minutes away by car.

Baluran said “it’s hard to say goodbye” to Marantan and introduced a resolution commending the police chief “for the accomplishments he had extended to our city,” which the city council approved.

It was the chair of the city council’s committee on peace and public safety, lawyer Luna Acosta, who introduced Marantan to the city council during his visit on Tuesday.

Acosta was the same councilor who accused the Philippine National Police (PNP) of violating the law on police reform and reorganization with Marantan’s appointment July last year.

She said then that Marantan’s appointment violated Republic Act 6975 (or the Department of the Interior and Local Government Act of 1990), as amended through RA 8551 (also known as PNP Reform and Reorganization Act of 1998).

She expounded that these laws “explicitly state that the city mayor has the authority to choose the chief of police from a list of five eligibles recommended by the PNP regional director, preferably from the same city, province, or municipality.”

But when she introduced Marantan on Tuesday, Acosta told city councilors to welcome the colonel and to give their “sincerest appreciation for his dedicated service with professionalism and integrity in his capacity as the Acting City Director of the Davao City Police Office.” (Ian Carl Espinosa / MindaNews)