SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union — Chief Superintendent Romeo Hilomen, former head of the Police Security and Protection Office (PSPO), assumed office Wednesday as acting director of the Ilocos Police Regional Office in a turnover of command where the outgoing officer was somewhere else outside the country.

The sudden change of command in the Ilocos police office caught Chief Superintendent Leopoldo Bataoil, the reassigned police regional director, still in Fujian, China for a goodwill visit together with ranking police officers of the region, following the Ilocos PNP regional office’s winning a national award as the best throughout the country.

Bataoil was designated as head of the PNP Directorate for Police Community Relations (DPCR), a two-star rank position. He was expected to report there upon his group’s return last Friday

Hilomen and Bataoil are both members of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class of 1976.

The turnover ceremony was presided over by National Police Deputy Chief for Administration Jesus Versoza, a classmate of the two officials.

Hilomen, currently in the news over the alleged abduction of Rodolfo Noel Lozada by men of the PSPO, which Hilomen headed before his Ilocos PNP assignment, denied that the issue on the NBN-ZTE deal had anything to do with his reassignment.
He said he received the confirmation of his appointment as early as January 2008 but his marching order came through just last week..

Bataoil was represented at the turnover rites by PRO-Ilocos Deputy Director for Administration Ramon Gatan.

Hilomen thanked Versoza and Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno for endorsing him to the position.

“I have not approached any strong key personality from this region, so I don’t owe them anything. But I will be serving them and will be a friend to them because the former regional director (Bataoil) is a very friendly officer,” he declared.