Ingram should quit

Saying he has lost his capability to head a sensitive government agency, Senate Vice President Thomas P. Villagomez urged Public Safety Commissioner Charles W. Ingram to step down in the wake of the latest jailbreak that occurred under his leadership.

He also called on Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio to sack his DPS chief to allow other people to administer the department’s functions, which he said are very critical to the community at anytime.

“The governor must take actions on Mr. Ingram before it’s too late,” Villagomez said in an interview, noting the string of jailbreaks and the March prison standoff are “just too much” for the public to ignore.

“Is (Ingram) doing his job,” he asked. “I believe he has lost his capability to handle DPS. The police’s morale is really down.”

Villagomez is the first elected official to come out publicly against Ingram since the escape of the three inmates last Oct. 10, who were recaptured by police two days later. The DPS chief could not be reached for comment on his statement.

According to the senator, Ingram should resign immediately. “Everybody has lost confidence in him and he should know better,” he added.

But Villagomez, who is also vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Executive Appointments and Governmental Investigations which confirmed the DPS chief in March 1998, said the governor must also step in and ask for his resignation.

Although it holds power of approval on government appointees, the Senate does not have the authority to fire public officials whom they have confirmed without conducting an oversight hearing.

The senator said it will take months to come up with a report from a Senate investigation, while the governor has the power to remove any appointee.

“It’s up to the governor to fire Ingram,” said Villagomez.

Tenorio, who expressed disappointment over the incident, disclosed last week that he will await results of the investigation being conducted by DPS on the jailbreak before taking actions. He did not say whether the administrative sanctions will include termination of officials.

“If you are going to fix the situation, you have to start from the top to the bottom,” Villagomez said, noting Ingram’s excuse blaming failure by jail guards to follow procedures within the Susupe correctional facility.

Ingram has come under fire in recent months since his reported run-in with the law over a traffic incident last August. The Office of Attorney General cleared him of charges of misconduct.

During his one and a half year in office, four jailbreaks occurred — the worst last February when eight prisoners bolted out of their cells. They were later rearrested, but most of them led the prison siege a month later that cost the government hundreds of thousands of dollars in property damage.