Lt. Col. Ralph Jason Oida, former chief of Iriga City Police, has been relieved of his position due to his involvement in the detention of a reporter who accessed the police blotter.
In a reassignment order signed by PNP Region 5 Provincial Director P/Col. Julius Caesar Domingo, Oida has been transferred to the headquarters of the Camarines Sur Police Provincial Office.
In the meantime, oversight of the Iriga City Police has been temporarily entrusted to P/Maj. Jabesh Napolis, the deputy officer of Iriga City PNP.
Recent revelations also show that Oida faced a homicide case during his tenure as police chief in Labo, Camarines Norte, in 2008, involving another police officer. However, the case was dismissed.
Oida was responsible for apprehending Joeriz Pajares, a reporter from Radyo Natin (RN) station in Iriga, who was detained for three days for accessing the police blotter.
Pajares himself revealed on DZRH that the arrest was warrantless, and he was unaware of the new policy that Oida cited as the basis for his apprehension.
On the other hand, PBGen. Redrico Maranan, Chief of the PNP Public Information Office, clarified on DZRH that permission from the station chief is necessary before accessing the police blotter.
However, the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFOMS) stressed that journalist Pajares is not at fault and appealed to review and temporarily suspend the policy.
