MANILA, Philippines - Philippine National Police (PNP) acting Chief Jose Melencio Nartatez relieved Col. Jean Fajardo as PNP spokesman, saying media affairs will now be handled by the Public Information Office (PIO).

Nartatez relieves Fajardo as PNP spokesman

Nartatez said he was considering retaining BGen. Rodolfo Tuaño, the PNP PIO chief, and appoint him spokesman in concurrent capacity. 

“The PIO is here. He is handling the repository of reports and preparing them for the public,” Nartatez told reporters at Camp Crame. 

“Why do we have a spokesperson? He’s the spokesperson. Right? There are two of us—the Chief PNP and the PIO,” he said. 

Nartatez relieves Fajardo as PNP spokesman

Fajardo currently remains the head of the Directorate for Comptrollership. , This news data comes from:http://rxlprj.redcanaco.com

Nartatez said it was the chief of police himself who should speak for the entire institution. 

“Here in the national headquarters for example, the spokesperson should be the chief PNP and the PIO,” he said. 

Fajardo was appointed spokesman of the PNP in 2022. Her appointment as director of comptrollership was among the first major shake-ups in the three-month administration of former PNP chief Nicolas Torre III.

Nartatez said he was still “studying” the spokesman designation but insisted that "the PIO is here and the position should be under it in the first place."

"The chief PNP has a spokesperson and a PIO but it just seems the same,” Nartatez said.