ICPO chief removed over ‘subpar performance’

By Jennifer P. Rendon

Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) director Colonel Leo Batiles is due to hang his boots on March 2023.

But two months before his retirement from service, the Police Regional Office (PRO) 6 decided to give him an earlier exit from the ICPO and place him on non-duty status.

On Thursday, Brigadier General Leo Francisco, Western Visayas police chief, confirmed the eventual relief of Batiles after the former had a talk with Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas.

Treñas discussed the “subpar performance of ICPO in fighting crimes, especially against illegal drugs vis-à-vis his support to ICPO.”

“And he also requested for a change in leadership of ICPO,” Francisco said.

Treñas made the request for leadership change when he met Francisco Thursday afternoon hours after 32 persons were arrested in a suspected drug den in Mandurriao district.

Batiles, a member of Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) Class 1994, was designated as ICPO chief in November 2021.

Replacing Batiles is Colonel Joresty Coronica, the outgoing chief of the Regional Personnel and Records Management Division (RPRMD).

Coronica is a member of PNPA Class 2000.

Sources told DG that apart from Coronica, the top ICPO post was offered to another officer, but the latter turned it down due to some career considerations.