The Philippine National Police has effected a massive revamp of major positions amid the drug recycling scandal that rocked the police organization in the past weeks.
Based on reorganization order, the powerful Criminal Investigation and Detection Group will have a new director, Police Brig. Gen. Joel Napoleon Coronel, who is the current director of the Central Luzon regional police.
Napoleon will replace Major Gen. Amador Corpus who was assigned as the new head of the Directorate for Human Resources and Doctrine Development.
The post that would be vacated by Coronel will be taken over by Police Brig. Gen. Leonardo Cesneros.
Police Major Gen. Mariel Magaway is now the new spy chief of the PNP, being the new head of the Directorate for Intelligence.
Police Brig. Gen. Edward Carranza will be replaced as director of the Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon area) regional police by Police Brig. Gen. Vicente Danao, current Manila Police District chief.
Police Brig. Gen. Bernabe Balba, the current deputy director for administration of the CIDG, is set to take over the position that would be vacated by Danao.
Carranza, on the other hand, was designated as the new head of the Logistics Support Service.
Police Brig. Gen. Marcelo Morales was named as the new director of the Police Security Protection Group which takes care of the security of politicians and Very Important Persons.
Police Brig. Gen. Filmore Escobal was appointed as the new director of the Davao regional police.
Police Brig. Gen. Rhodel Sermonia will leave the Police Communist Relations Group to assume as deputy director of the Directorate for Police Community Relations.
Police Brig. Gen. Tomas Apolinario was replaced as the regional director of the Mimaropa (Mindoro Oriental and Occidental, Marinduque, Romblo, and Palawan) regional police and will serve as a deputy in the Directorate for Intelligence.
Apolinario will be replaced by Police Brig. Gen. Nicerio Obaob.
Police Brig. Gen. Dionardo Carlos, the director of the Eastern Visayas regional police, is now the head of the Highway Patrol Group, replacing Brig. Gen. Eliseo Cruz who will serve as the deputy chief of the CIDG.
Carlos will be replaced by Police Brig. Gen. Ferdinand Divina.
The head of the PNP-Drug Enforcement Group, Brig. Gen. Albert Ignatius Ferro, will be moved to a post in the Bicol region. He will be replaced by Police Col. Romeo Caramat.
Caramat’s post as commander of the Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group, the anti-scalawag unit of the PNP, will be taken over by Police Col. Ronald Lee.
Police Brig. Gen. Angelito Casimiro is now the director of the Cagayan Valley regional police.
Police Lt. Gen. Archie Gamboa, officer-in-charge of the PNP, reportedly implemented the revamp on orders of President Duterte and based on the powers given to him by the National Police Commission.
As OIC, Gamboa has originally no power to effect revamp of key positions but such power of the PNP chief was given to him by the Napolcom in a resolution.
Duterte had earlier expressed disappointment on the PNP over the drug recycling issue. PNP officers vowed to bounce back from the issue. (Aaron Recuenco)