By Cherrie Anne E. Villahermosa
Variety News Staff

AN official of the Department of Public Safety has been transferred to another section while another official is back with DPS as a training facilitator.
Effective Sunday, Criminal Investigation Bureau Chief Capt. Lawrence Camacho will be the officer-in-charge of the records section and firearms while Maj. Edward Manalili returns to DPS as training facilitator of the training and academy division.
Manalili will be working with Fire Director Tom Manglona and Capt. Pete Leon Guererro.
DPS Commissioner Rebecca Warfield said “people are being placed where they are needed and where they can do the most good.”
The commissioner, in an statement on Friday, said her commitment is to the safety and security of the people of the commonwealth.
She said her priority is to improve the quality of the service provided by first responders and uniformed patrols.
According to Warfield, after meeting with officers and riding along on patrol she has determined that her priority should be an investment in the men and women of the department.
She said some officers have not received training since they attended the academy so she has instituted a monthly training program for all personnel which includes weekly physical training sessions.
The purpose is to increase the competency and confidence of first responders, Warfield said.
She said their initial efforts have been successful and the men and women of the department are earning the respect and support of the community.
“No officer is more important than any other,” she said. “When a member of the community sees one police officer dressed in blue she sees the entire Department of Public Safety embodied in that one officer. We are only as strong as our weakest link. Together, as a department, we empower one another and bring strength to our islands,” the commissioner said.
Warfield said the purpose of the transfer of some officers from one section to another is to utilize their skills and expertise.
Warfield said Captain Camacho, who replaced Major Manalili as CIB chief, will do well in the records section and firearms.
“He is independent, intelligent and he doesn’t need to be pushed. He can work alone and he’s equipped because he has worked in internal affairs before,” she said.
“Firearms are very dangerous things and we need Captain Camacho to handle that section the way it should be handled,” Warfield said in a separate interview on Friday.
Warfield explained that Manalili was transferred to the FBI after several consultations with the FBI on December.
She said it is also in the best interests of the commonwealth to continue collaborating with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
At the same time, she added, “the shortage of manpower creates a tremendous strain on the department’s human and financial resources and Major Manalili is needed in the department to work as a facilitator in the training and academy division.”
Manalili, Fire Director Manglona and Captain Leon Guerrero will coordinate with Northern Marianas College, Warfield said.
“There are a lot of terrific men and women in this department who deserve promotion. They have been here for so long and they’re good at other things yet they are not being utilized,” Warfield said.
“Simply because someone has been in that position for a long time doesn’t mean that someone else can’t have those position. There are a lot of officers here who deserve an opportunity.”
Warfield said these transfers have nothing to do with the return of Capt. Aniceto Ogumoro to the department.
Ogumoro assumed his old position as acting police director on Jan. 15.
There have been rumors that Manalili and Camacho were transfered as “retaliation.”
When Ogumoro was arrested and charged with unlawful possession of firearm and ammunition, Manalili was the CIB chief.
The charges against Ogumoro were later dismissed.
It was Ogumoro who issued the memorandum for Camacho’s transfer to the records section.
Warfield said Ogumoro has conducted himself with professionalism since his return to DPS.
“Morale was very very low when I came on board but I explained to them that the community believes in you and I think that moral has improved, and that progress will continue,” she said. “We are one department and one force. The department is aware that the commonwealth is watching and continues its commitment to ensure quality service. DPS has traveled a troubled road and still faces many challenges. With the continued support of the people of the commonwealth, we are on a path toward excellence.”