In the morning of Monday, August 16, 2010 at the Mayor’s Office, the People’s Law Enforcement Board, or PLEB, was formally reconstituted for the new administration of Butuan City.
Vice Mayor Lawrence Lemuel H. Fortun, together with the three appointed members from the private sector, took oath before Mayor Ferdinand M. Amante, Jr. to officially begin their duties. At the recommendation of the City Peace and Order Council (CPOC), the selected individuals were Mr. Marlon Rosales Labis, Ms. Nova Lourdes Mancao – Ramirez, and Atty. Josefa Sorrera – Ty.
Mr. Labis was the 2004-2005 Student Council President of Father Saturnino Urios University (FSUU). With his calibre as a leader, he was chosen as a Philippine Delegate to the China-ASEAN Youth Conference in 2006, and the China-ASEAN Young Leaders’ Training Program in 2008. Presently, he works as an administrative manager of a private company.
Ms. Mancao - Ramirez is a well-rounded woman. In the world of culture, she is a resident artist of the Music Theatre Foundation of the Philippines; a performing artist of various local, national, and international concerts; a concert producer, and a founding member of the Elite Circle of Aesthetics Vocal Artists in Butuan City. On the business side, she is the Corporate Secretary of Mancao Supermarket, Inc. And in community concerns, she actively serves as a lector and a catechist of St. Joseph Cathedral, and is a benefactor of Balay Silonganan and Home for the Street Children, Inc.
Atty. Ty is a renowned scholar. From being an elementary salutatorian and high school valedictorian, she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Accountancy from the University of the Philippines, and subsequently ranked 18th in the 1990 CPA Board Exam. She studied and passed Bachelor of Laws, and passed the Bar Examination in 1996. She also finished her academic units for a post-graduate degree in Master of Laws at San Beda College, Manila. She, too, is an alumna of the International Visitors Program of the US State Department for the US-RP Exchange Program on Strengthening Leadership for Responsible Citizenship on Criminal Justice, Environment, and Governance. She is currently the Dean of the College of Law of FSUU.
Completing the five-member board was three-term Datu Silongan Punong Barangay Tito A. Bebis, who shall serve as the Liga ng mga Punong Barangay Representative up until his retirement from office sometime in this year’s last quarter.
With the chairmanship as the first crucial matter for decision, the Board decided to award this responsibility to Vice Mayor Fortun.
The PLEB is a special body created to hear and decide on civilians’ cases filed against erring officers and members of the police force as provided for in Republic Act No. 6975 and its implementing rules, regulations, memoranda, and guidelines.
With its reconstitution, the public expects for the efficient resolution of cases filed against abusive police officers, and for justice to be truly delivered to the aggrieved parties.