Velasco’s retirement triggers 9 PNP promotions

The retirement of Deputy Director General Reynaldo Velasco on May 22 could trigger promotions for nine ranking officials of the Philippine National Police (PNP).

The nine police officials passed the final screening of the PNP’s Special Officers Promotion and Placement Board (SOPPB) last Tuesday which Velasco had presided over as PNP deputy chief for administration (DCA).

PNP chief Director General Arturo Lomibao has approved SOPPB’s recommendations.

The list will be submitted to Interior and Local Government Secretary Angelo Reyes as the chairman of the National Police Commission (Napolcom) and Malacañang for final approval.

Tapped to replace Velasco is Deputy Director General Ricardo de Leon, who will head the police Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force (AID-SOTF) in a concurrent capacity.

Both Velasco and De Leon belong to Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class ’71, which included their famous "mistahs," Sen. Panfilo Lacson, former senator Gregorio "Gringo" Honasan, and former PNP chief Edgar Aglipay.

De Leon’s post as Deputy Chief for Operations (DCO) will be taken over by Deputy Director General Oscar Calderon who in turn will be replaced by Deputy Director General Avelino Razon as the PNP chief of directorial staff.

Almost certain to fill Razon’s slot as National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief is Director Vidal Querol, the former Western Mindanao police director.

Chief Superintendent Prospero Noble was tapped to replace Querol as Western Mindanao police director.

Noble’s post as NCRPO deputy director will go to Chief Superintendent Augusto Angcanan, whose last assignment was from the DCA.

Director Simeon Dizon was tapped to replace Director Robert Delfin as chief of the PNP Directorate for Intelligence. Delfin is set to retire on May 21, a day ahead of Velasco.

Dizon’s post as Region 11 police chief will be taken over by Chief Superintendent Antonio Billones, who would be replaced as Region 12 police commander by Chief Superintendent Danilo Mangila, the deputy chief of AID-SOTF.

Dizon is a classmate of Lomibao who belongs to PMA Class ’72. Calderon, Querol, Billones and Angcanan are from PMA Class ‘73. Razon and Noble both belong to PMA Class ’74.

Mangila, on the other hand, is a product of direct commission in 1973. He will join two others — Eastern Visayas director Chief Superintendent Dionisio Coloma and Chief Superintendent Delfin Genio of Region 4-B (Mimaropa) — in the PNP’s regional director’s list of non-PMA graduates.

Meanwhile, De Leon will serve as acting PNP chief from May 16 to 22 while Lomibao and other ranking officials are in Bali, Indonesia to attend a gathering of ASEAN chiefs of police.