By ERWIN ‘AMBO’ DELILAN
POLICE COLONEL Noel Aliño led and left the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) with dignity, pride and honor.
Though his 15-month tour of duty in the “City of Smiles” ain’t perfect, he made several astonishing accomplishments that wowed Bacolodnons.
Putting an end to the infamous “wigit bangkay” modus in the city is one major accomplishment that the police colonel must be proud of.
It cannot be denied that Aliño’s entry to Bacolod in April 2023 was just in haste, following the disgust of Mayor Albee Benitez over the series of distasteful incidents of “wigit kamot”, “wigit ti-il” and later, “wigit bangkay”. Such incidents clearly irritated the tyro mayor.
Flexing his power as a billionaire mayor and “political kingmaker” in Negros Occidental, the irked mayor, in front of the media, phoned Interior and Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos and asked for the immediate replacement of then retirable Colonel Joseph Thomas Martir.
Right there and then, Martir was ordered relieved and Aliño, who was in Iloilo that time, was chosen as his replacement.
Aliño’s first “big task” then: stop the “wigit bangkay”.
Without batting an eyelash, Aliño did it. He succeeded!
‘SHABULIZED’ BACOLOD
Bacolod, prior to Aliño’s entry, was tagged as a “shabulized” city. The proliferation of illegal drugs, particularly shabu, was “beyond rampant”.
The “shabulized” tag, therefore, was no joke. It became a major challenge for Mayor Albee, following his “super romanticizing” to make Bacolod a “super city” under his watch.
Aliño, true to his mandate, rendered a unique “brand of police leadership” that resulted to the confiscation of P109 million worth of shabu under his 15-month-old stint. Such was an immense anti-illegal drug accomplishment “hard for copycat”.
Likewise, the “neutralization” of the Caunda drug ring in the city is attributable to Aliño’s persistence in the fight against the lucrative shabu business.
Again, he made it. He aced it!
POLICE MASCOTS
“Creating” two police mascots – si MassKara and si Inasal – was one extraordinary gimmickry that endeared the city cops to the community.
It’s a first in the history of BCPO and the city to have these two mascots being used to entertain the community from time-to-time, especially when there were huge gatherings in Bacolod.
Kids and the “kids at heart” really loved the police mascots.
For some, the mascots were “nothing but OA (over acting)”. But the mascots silently boosted police community services, uplifting the image and credibility of the BCPO.
The police’s standing in the community has a negative connotation – brusko – that sometimes makes the public keep a distance.
Mascots MassKara and Inasal carried a “special mission” – bring the police community closer to the people. It makes sense.
Aliño introducing an “out-of- the-box” idea is hailable in all angles. He tried it. He triumphed.
NOT ‘BALAT SIBUYAS’
Above all, Aliño’s indelible accomplishments in Bacolod wouldn’t be possible sans the support of the Fourth Estate.
His collaboration with and openness to the media led him to be an effective and efficient BCPO director.
Media served as Aliño’s check-and-balance, or compass.
Too, Aliño considered the media his “alarm clock”.
He never reacted to “not-so-good” media reports; he was not “balat sibuyas”. He was open to media criticism and used every “bad” report as a stepping stone to do better.
GIGANTIC TASK
Migrating to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) as regional director for the National Capital Region (NCR) is another gigantic task for Aliño. More so that the CIDG is now the pursuing police unit against the fugitive Pastor Apollo Quiboloy of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KJC).
Aliño’s expertise and well-honed skills in intelligence works are assets for CIDG’s prime mission. His BCPO stint prepared him.
It won’t be surprising if tomorrow or at the soonest time possible, I will wake up seeing on TV or reading online news General Noel Aliño bantering another great accomplishment.
My advance salutation, therefore, to General Aliño!/PN
