Mayor Cynthia Guiani Sayadi today, March 19, condemns to the highest degree the murder of retired P/Col. Rolen Balquin, who served as Cotabato City public safety officer, following his retirement as Cotabato City Police Office director.
Sayadi, in a statement she issued, described Balquin as a courageous person, who always stood his ground, especially in implementing laws in Cotabato City.
As a former city director of our PNP, he helped a lot in maintaining peace and order in Cotabato City, she added.
Balquin held numerous key positions at both the Bacolod City Police Office and the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office while he was still in active service prior to his assignment in Cotabato City.
He also served as director of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Region 2.
Sayadi vowed to get the killers of Balquin, whom she considers a “good friend and a reliable colleague.”
“We may lay Col. Balquin to rest, but we will not rest until you are captured,” Sayadi told his killers. “We will not stop until you are held accountable for the heinous crime you committed.”
Balquin was reported to have been declared dead on arrival at a hospital. He succumbed to a gunshot wound in the chest, after he and his companion, PCMS Arial Gutang, were both shot in front of a commercial establishment in Brgy. Rosary Height, Cotabato City, at about 10 a.m. today. | GB
