CAPITOL officials urged the public to give the new chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) 7 the benefit of the doubt despite his controversial background.

Supt. Lito Patay assumed office as CIDG 7 chief yesterday, replacing Senior Supt. Royina Garma, who was promoted to Cebu City Police Office director.

Patay declined to comment on a Pulitzer Prize-winning Reuters report that pointed out he headed “the deadliest police station” in Quezon City from July 2016 to July 2017, when at least 108 persons were killed in its jurisdiction. The anti-drug operative unit’s core reportedly came from or near Davao.

In a press conference, Gov. Hilario Davide III told reporters that even with Patay’s reputation, he still wants to give the new CIDG 7 chief the benefit of the doubt.

“I won’t judge him. Let’s just see how he manages the CIDG 7 here,” Davide said.

Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale also agreed to give Patay a chance to prove himself. Magpale said she believes that Patay will give justice to the CIDG’s mandate by cracking the unsolved murder cases in Cebu.

Asked about the spate of killings in Cebu, Superintendent Patay quipped: “Na, yati na, pareho na sa apelyido nato.”

The 44-year-old officer who hails from Enrique Villanueva town in Siquijor said he finds Cebu peaceful and its local government officials supportive. He met with top personnel in his first official day.

He told reporters, “Di man trabaho namo mamatay. Trabaho namo mang-imbestiga, manakop (It’s not our job to kill. Our job is to investigate, arrest).”

Patay also urged journalists to be fair. When the PNP solves something, it disappears quickly from Facebook or TV. But if they fall short, the coverage is repetitive, he said. “I hope you will be fair,” he added.

Patay and Garma are both graduates of the Philippine National Police Academy Class of 1997. His first assignment was in the Provincial Mobile Group of Davao Del Norte Provincial Police Office, right after graduation.

Before he entered the academy, he took up mechanical technology.

“Namunot kog lubi sa una, gibaligya nako ang bagol (I also used to take the husks off coconuts and sold the shells),” he said.

Patay served as station commander of several police units in Davao del Norte before he was transferred to Quezon City in 2016. (KAL WITH JKV)