A FORMER United Nations (UN) officer became the new spokesperson of the 192,000-strong Philippine National Police (PNP) effective Tuesday.
Senior Superintendent Bernard Banac formally assumed as the new chief of the Public Information Office (PNP-PIO) and the police force’s spokesperson, replacing fellow UN officer Chief Superintendent Benigno Durana Jr. in a simple turn-over ceremony in Camp Crame, Quezon City.
Prior to his appointment, Banac, 48, was assigned as assistant chief of the Supervisory Office for Security and Investigation Agencies (SOSIA), a department of the PNP which regulates the operations of all security agencies in the country.
Banac vowed to continue the gains obtained by the PNP information office under Durana’s leadership. He also expressed support to the policies of President Duterte and PNP chief Director General Oscar Albayalde.
“My marching order is to effectively communicate the programs and policies of the PNP with utmost transparency and of great service to the public,” Banac said.
A member of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Tanglaw Diwa Class of 1992, Banac also finished a master’s degree in Development Management at the Asian Institute of Management in 1999.
Banac started his career as a Special Action Force (SAF) company commander from 1992 to 1996. He then served as a security aide to then Interior and Local Government Secretary Robert Barbers from 1996 to 1998.
From there, Banac started working his way up, serving as the precinct commander of Greenhills Police in San Juan City and officer-in-charge of Kamuning Police Station (PS-10) of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) from 2003 to 2004 and as an instructor of TABA Cops Program at SBMA, Subic Bay, Zambales from June 2004 to October 2005.
His first international stint came in November 2005 when he was deployed as a technical adviser of the United Nations Police Arms Embargo Cell of UN mission in Abidjan, Ivory Coast from November 2005 to May 2007; and operations and planning officer of the UN mission in Pristina, Kosovo, from May 2008 to March 2009. (Martin Sadongdong)
