Lieutenant Col. Mary Crystal Peralta on Thursday assumed office as Tagbilaran City Police Station commander, making her the first woman to take over as the city’s top cop.
Peralta officially replaced Lt. Col. Oscar Boyles, who has been reassigned to the Bohol Provincial Police Office, during a change of command ceremony which was attended by newly installed BPPO director Col. Joselito Clarito at the Tagbilaran City Police Station.
Peralta is the city’s 26th chief of police since 1955.
The orders for the reassignment of Peralta and Boyles were issued by Brigadier General Ignatius Ferro, director of the Police Regional Office 7, as part of the Philippine National Police’s routine shuffling of officials.
Peralta, as the city’s first female chief of police, said that she can offer a different approach in running the police station with her “motherly touch” and experiences in holding various posts in the police force.
“As we recognize the role of women in nation building, we have to consider women’s approach in any circumstance. We are not claiming that we are better, but we have a different perspective and way on how to tackle issues and challenges. We have the woman’s and motherly touch combined,” she said.
The new city police chief who is a former municipal police commander and regional spokesperson also vowed to boost the morale of her personnel and look out for their welfare to push them to perform better and grow as police officers.
“I’ll see to it that the morale and welfare of my men is with utmost concern and attention for I believe that if we can’t boost the morale of our men, how can we perform well and their talents cannot be discovered, their potentials will be hidden,” she said.
Peralta who has been a police officer for 16 years graduated from the Philippine National Police Academy in 2004.
According to Peralta, she joined the PNP’s elite Special Action Force right after graduating and later took on numerous posts in the police force.
She was assigned at the Lapu-Lapu City Police Office, Cebu City Police Office, Cebu Police Provincial Office and PNP National Headquarters in Camp Crame, among others.
Peralta was also spokesperson for the Police Regional Office 1. While manning the post, she was awarded as the nation’s “Best Police Information Officer” twice by the PNP.
The new city police chief will now be among the top officers under the BPPO which, like the rest of the PNP, remains a male-dominated organization.
The PNP has less than 20 percent of its workforce composed of women while the BPPO in particular has 289 female police officers out of over 1,500 cops province-wide. (R. Tutas)