TURNOVER OF COMMAND. Police Director Rolando Felix, Directorate of Integrated Police Operations (DIPO) for Visayas (center), administers the turnover of command between outgoing Police Regional Office 6 (PRO6) Director Chief Supt Cesar Hawthorne Binag (left) and incoming Director Chief Supt John C. Bulalacao held at the Camp Martin Delgado on Tuesday (June 5, 2018.) (Photo by Cindy Ferrer)
ILOILO CITY -- The Police Regional Office 6 (Western Visayas) on Tuesday welcomed Chief Supt. John C. Bulalacao as its new regional director.
Bulalacao replaced Chief Supt. Cesar Hawthorne Binag who was promoted to a two-star general and assigned as director of the Directorate for Information and Communication Technology Management of the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Camp Crame.
Bulalacao will serve as OIC for one month. His performance will be evaluated before he will be installed as full-fledged regional director, said Binag in a phone interview on Wednesday.
Bulalacao’s assignment as OIC was signed by the Directorate for Personnel and Records Management of the PNP national headquarters.
In his speech, Bulalacao appealed to the people in the region to also extend their “full support”, as requested by Binag.
“I can only pledge to live up to your expectations and to match the responsibility placed on my shoulders to lead the officers, men and women of this command. With God’s help and your unflinching support, I know that we can bring our police regional office to rise to the challenges, as well as improve our capability to serve and protect the people,” said the native of Polangui, Albay.
Bulalacao said his actions will anchor on the guidance of the chief PNP, emphasizing internal reforms and organizational discipline, as well as communicate factual and truthful information being the former spokesperson of the PNP.
“I will see to it that organizational discipline, unit integrity and individual reform will henceforth dictate the direction of all our actions,” he said.
Bulalacao said that he is currently facing the challenge of exceeding or at least matching Binag’s accomplishments in the region.
In his message, Binag cited the war on drugs, particularly the neutralization of national, regional and provincial high-value targets as among the major accomplishments of his office.
This included the neutralization of the region’s top drug lord Richard Prevendido, regional high-value target Arturo Balome Sr. and the region’s most wanted criminal Antonio Aquino.
He also recognized the 32.08 percent drop in crime volume and 36.98 percent drop in index crimes during his stint as PRO-6’s regional director from May 2017 to May 2018.
Bulalacao said that the PNP national headquarters has sighted PRO-6 as among the regions that have delivered significant results in the anti-illegal drugs campaign.
“We will continue to pursue our Oplan Double Barrel to sustain the momentum of our gains. We will not relent in our war against illegal drugs and other forms of criminality,” he said.
Bulalacao added that the performance of all provincial directors, city directors and station commanders of police good deeds and exemplary performance will be regularly evaluated.
“We will be quickly acknowledged and rewarded while mediocre performance and misbehavior will be swiftly sanctioned and not tolerated,” he said.
Prior to his new assignment, Bulalacao served as the spokesman of the PNP. He is a member of the Philippine Military Academy’s class of 1988.
Bulalacao also used to be the chief of the regional directorial staff of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO).
He also served as Deputy Director of the Logistics Support Service and Chief of Staff of the Civil Security Group, Assistant Chief of the Firearms and Explosives Office, and Provincial Director of Cavite.
Held in Camp Martin Teofilo Delgado in this city, the turnover of command was presided by Police Director Rolando Felix, Directorate of Integrated Police Operations (DIPO) for Visayas. (With reports from John Michael Ramos & Isaiah Junio (WVSU-OJT/PNA)
