AT long last, Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar was chosen by President Rodolfo ‘Digong’ Duterte y Roa to be the next Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief.
He was the only one among three active PNP Lieutenant Generals recommended by Department of the Interior and Local Government’s (DILG) Secretary Ano.
He is the mass media, and it seems, also the social media favorite. He was and still is my favorite.
Unless he is extended beyond the retirement age of fifty – six (The President has the authority to extend him for a maximum of six months.), he will only serve for less than 6 months.
Fortunately, he has served in the three most senior positions below that of Director General, namely: Deputy for Administration, Deputy for Operations and Chief of the Directorial Staff.
Before that, he served as NCRPO Director, CALABARZON Regional Director and Q. C. District Director.
The PNP is the successor to the Marcos era Philippine Constabulary/Integrated National Police (PC/INP).
While the PNP is now under the DILG, the PC was under the Department of National Defense (DND) and the INP was under the office of the President and the National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM).
Prior to the Integration of Local Police Forces (August 8, 1975) and the Declaration and Implementation of Martial Law under P. D. 1081 (September 21 – 23, 1972), there were separate Provincial, City and Municipal Police Departments.
The Provincial Forces were called Provincial Guards and were also in charge of the Provincial Jails.
The PC was organized under the American Colonial Government on August 8, 1901.
Its first Filipino Chief of Constabulary was Brigadier Geneneral Rafael Crame y Perez de Tagle. My daughter – in – law is related to him.
We attended the transfer of his remains from the North Cemetery to the Libingan ng mga Bayani. Last month, my ‘balaes’, my son, his wife and four children were exposed to the former PNP Chief Debold Sinas (COVID 19), during the unveiling of the new statue of Gen. Crame on a horse in the rotunda that connects the two main roads in Camp Crame.
The PC disappeared twice – the first time between 1936 and 1938 before WW II and the second time after WW II.
During the Japanese Occupation, it was known as the Bureau of Constabulary.
Its former Officers and Enlisted Men were forced by the Japanese as well as the Puppet Philippine Government to serve and do their bidding including running after the guerillas.
Aside from Crame, the other Chiefs of Constabulary whom I can remember by name only were: Basilio Valdez, Guillermo Francisco, Rafael Jalandoni, Mariano Castaneda, Manuel Cabal, Pelagio Cruz (Philippine Air Force), Flaviano Olivares and Nicanor Garcia.
I knew and met Vicente Raval, Manuel Yan, Eduardo Garcia, Fidel V. Ramos, Renato de Villa and Ramon Montano. When the INP was created, the Chief PC was concurrently the INP Director General.
My father – in – law, Brig. Gen. Hermilo Ahorro y Noriega of Meycauauyan, Bulacan, was the Deputy Chief PC for Police Matters from 1978 until 1986.
Then, he was laterally transferred to the INP, was promoted to Police/Maj. Gen. and served as the INP Deputy Director General until he retired on his 60th birthday on January 13, 1987.
In his junior year at the Ateneo de Manila College in 1948, he was the ROTC Corps Commander.
He was commissioned as a Reserve 2nd or 3rd Lieutenant in the Philippine Army (PA) without finishing his college because of the PKP/HMB rebellion.
He went to Korea as a 1st Lieutenant and a Weapons Platoon Leader in one of the five BCTs in the 1950’s.
After Korea, he was integrated and commissioned again as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Regular Officers roster.
He was quickly promoted to 1st Lieutenant and Captain but it took almost a decade and a half to become a Major.
Although he belonged to the PA, he was assigned most of the time at the General Headquarters, AFP, in Camp Murphy/Aguinaldo.
After serving as the Administrative Officer, Aide and PIO of AFP Chief of Staff Atienza, he transferred to the Philippine Constabulary in 1966.
He was assigned to the III PC Zone in the Visayas and the IV PC Zone in Mindanao.
His promotion to Lt. Col. and full Colonel was much faster.
He was the Deputy Commander and commander of Task Force Pagkakaisa in Ft. Pikit, North Cotabato, PC Hill, Cotabato City and Bangoy Airport, Davao City. He was promoted to Brig. Gen. and appointed as DCPC for PM in 1978.
Minister of Local Government and Senator Aquilino ‘Nene’ Pimentel Jr., was the principal author of the Local Government Code of 1990.
In line with the 1987 Constitution, it created the DILG and merged the PC and the INP under it as the PNP in January 29, 1991. The old military ranks of both the PC and INP were replaced by civilian ranks.
The head was known as the PNP Director General.
Since then, we have had twenty – four (plus two OIC’s), namely: Cesar Nazareno, Raul Imperial, Umberto Rodriguez, Recaredo Sarmiento III, Santiago Alino, Roberto Lastimoso, Edmundo Laroza, Panfilo Lacson, Leandro Mendoza, Hermogenes Ebdane, Edgardo Aglipay, Arturo Lomibao, Oscar Calderon, Avelino Razon, Jr., Jesus Verzoza, Raul Bacalso, Nicanor Bartolome, Cesar Purisima, Leonardo Espina, Ricardo Marquez, Ronald ‘Bato’ de la Rosa, Oscar David Albayalde, Archie Gamboa, Camilo Cascolan, Debold Sinas, and Guillermo Eleazar. (To be continued) …