Parilla named permanent Iloilo City police chief

By Jennifer P. Rendon

Col. Wilbert Parilla, who was tasked to temporarily lead the Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO), will soon permanently head one of the country’s outstanding police offices.

Brigadier Gen. Josefino Ligan, Western Visayas police chief, publicly announced that Parilla has been chosen for the post.

“Pinili ka na naman na ni Mayor (Raisa Treñas-Chu),” Ligan told Parilla during the send-off ceremony for security troops deployed for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and related meetings Friday morning at the Police Regional Office (PRO) 6 headquarters at Camp Martin Delgado, Iloilo City.

Ligan said Treñas-Chu has already sent a letter affirming her selection of Parilla for the post.

“Confirmation na lang from national headquarters ang hinihintay,” he said, thanking the Iloilo City government for choosing Parilla as ICPO director.

Parilla was appointed ICPO officer-in-charge effective Jan. 13, concurrently serving as chief of the Regional Intelligence Division (RID) 6.

He took over the post vacated by Col. Roland Bulalacao, who was relieved as PRO-6 deputy regional director for operations effective the same day.

When Parilla was designated, PRO-6 said he would be relieved upon the designation of an acting ICPO chief.

More than two weeks later, when asked why he chose Parilla to act as ICPO OIC, Ligan said that “before he was named as OIC of ICPO, there were prior consultation and coordination with the local chief executive.”

The appointment drew attention given that other officers were considered equally qualified and more senior than Parilla, a member of the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) Class of 2002.

With the younger Parilla getting the nod, more senior officers lost the opportunity to serve as city or provincial director before their retirement.

Ligan had earlier acknowledged that other officers at PRO-6 regional headquarters were also qualified, but said the preference of the local chief executive was given significant weight in the selection.