MANILA – The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Friday announced that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has approved the promotion of Lt. Gen. Benjamin Santos Jr. as deputy chief for operations and Lt. Gen. Patrick Villacorte as area commander of Area Police Command (APC) - Eastern Mindanao.
Their promotion to three-star rank was formalized in ceremonies presided over by PNP chiefGen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr.
on Thursday.
On Friday, Azurin also formalized the promotion of 10 other senior police officials to higher ranks:
Maj. Gen. Oliver Enmodias as deputy commander of APC - Northern Luzon;
Maj. Gen. Robert Rodriguez as director of the Directorate for Personnel and Records Management;
Maj. Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr. as Director for Intelligence;
Maj. Gen. Arthur Cabalona as deputy commander of APC - Eastern Mindanao;
Brig. Gen. Cosme Abrenica as executive officer of the Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management;
Brig. Gen.Enrico Vargas as executive officer of APC-Visayas;
Brig. Gen. Benedicto Pintor as deputy regional director for administration of Police Regional Office (PRO) 10 (Northern Mindanao);
Brig. Gen. Kirby John Kraft as Director of the Southern Police District;
Brig. Gen. Carlito Gaces as deputy regional director for administration of PRO 1 (Ilocos); and
Brig. Gen. Joseph Bayan as commander of the Inspection and Audit Division of the Internal Affairs Service.
In his message, the PNP chief reminded all senior officials and unit commanders to add more teeth in enforcing the campaign against criminality and illegal drugs with the help of the church and community through the "KASIMBAYANAN" project.
“We will also heavily evaluate their respective individual performances to determine their competence to continue leading their respective units,” he said.
Also on Friday, Lt. Gen. Rhodel Sermonia, PNP Deputy Chief for Administration, administered the oath of office to an all-female group of 150 recruits of the Police Community Affairs and Development Group (PCAD) in ceremonies held in Camp Crame, Quezon City.
According to acting PCAD director Col. Patrick Joseph G. Allan, the historic placement of the all-female group in a National Support Unit is proof that the PNP puts a high premium on their qualities as women, and values their relevance as effective community organizers and communicators.
The recruits will be subsequently turned over to the National Police Training Institute in Camp Vicente Lim, Calamba City, Laguna for the six-month mandatory basic training, and another six months for the Public Safety Field Training Program.
After completing the training course, the newly appointed patrol officers will be assigned to the different Regional Police Community Affairs and Development Units across the country where they are expected to act as PCAD operators and strengthen police-community relations. (PNA)
