Former Police Regional Office 7 chief Brig. Gen. Roderick Augustus Alba made his first command visit to Bohol on Dec. 19, 2022, but after that very same day he toured the province, he got replaced by Brig. Gen. Jerry Fornaleza Bearis. The reason for the replacement of Alba is allegedly the e-sabong issue.
Bearis is the former top cop of Central Luzon before heading to Central Visayas. He replaced Alba while the latter was inspecting the police personnel here in the province.
Alba confirmed in some reports during his visit that he was relieved from duty due to the alleged e-sabong issue. The brigadier general did not go into details regarding his relief apart from saying his departure at PRO7 was connected with e-sabong. He added that during his tenure, the PRO7 had at least 200 anti-e-sabong operations.
Based on the directive of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), continued operation of e-sabong is a violation of the Cockfighting Law of 1974, where only face-to-face cockfights are legal and should only be organized during Sundays and legal holidays and town fiesta celebrations.
Alba said he did his best in the exercise of his duties and responsibilities. He also said that he is going to follow instructions and will accept the relief order after just a little over two months of service at the helm of PRO7.
Moreover, Alba is now assigned to the Directorate for Human Resources and Doctrine Development at Camp Crame after his more than 3 months stay as the top cop of Central Visayas covering the provinces of Cebu, Negros Oriental, Siquijor and. Bohol.
During his Bohol visit, Alba, met the personnel in Camp Dagohoy and was welcomed by provincial director Col. Lorenzo Batuan and Batuan’s men.
Moreover, Alba conducted a conference with personnel from Camp Dagohoy as he also met some of the provincial officials of Bohol.
This is the first time, and the last time, that Alba visited Bohol as the commander of the PRO 7.
Furthermore, Alba also went to the towns of Candijay and Bilar and inspected the police stations there.
Alba has been implementing 4C transformation framework which included focus on critical thinking, capability enhancing and cleansing.
He has been touring police stations in the region and has been engaging with the public during his stint as the top cop in the region.
Alba was assigned to PRO 7 on Oct. 14, 2022. He is a member of Philippine National Police Academy class of 1992.