7 top cops promoted as No. 2 man bows out

Seven ranking police officials will be promoted when the No. 2 man of the Philippine National Police (PNP) retires today.

The Senior Officers Placement and Promotions Board (SOPPB) at Camp Crame approved the promotions, which would take effect on Monday to coincide with the retirement ceremony for Deputy Director General Ricardo de Leon.

There would be no other movement in the PNP until next month, when three generals either opt for early retirement or be officially retired.

De Leon, a member of Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class ’71, bows out of the police service after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 56.

Tapped to replace De Leon as PNP deputy chief for administration (DCA) is Deputy Director General Oscar Calderon.

Calderon’s post as Deputy Chief for Operations (DCO) goes to Deputy Director General Avelino Razon, whose job as Chief of Directorial Staff (CDS) will be taken over by Director Isidro Lapeña, head of the Directorate for Operations (DO).

However, sources said yesterday there could be a possible hitch in Lapeña’s appointment.

"May humahabol sa pwesto sa CDS. Baka maging OIC muna siya sa CDS at concurrent DO head," one source said.

In case Lapeña’s appointment pushes through, Chief Superintendent Emmanuel Carta, head of the PNP Training Institute, could replace him at the DO.

Other promoted officials inlcude Chief Superintendent Augusto Angcanan, the deputy chief for administration of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), who will be the new director of the Traffic Management Group (TMG).

Angcanan replaces Chief Superintendent Ricardo Quinto, who slides down as deputy chief of the Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force (AIDSOTF).

Chief Superintendent Ely de la Paz, the deputy director for the Directorate for Logistics (DL), will be the new director for Eastern Visayas, replacing Chief Superintendent Dionisio Coloma, who will retire on Sept. 23.

De Leon’s post at AIDSOTF will be taken over in concurrent capacity by Director Marcelo Ele, director of the Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management (DIDM).

Sources said those expected to retire next month are Director Quirino de la Torre, head of the Directorate for Comptrollership; Chief Superintendent Jaime Lasar, director for Community Relations (PCR); and Chief Superintendent Dante Tejada, director for Police Regional Office 10 (PRO10).

For the past two weeks, De Leon had been touring various police headquarters in the country to bid his men goodbye after serving the PNP organization for more than 38 years.

After graduating from the PMA, he took the Scout Ranger Course Class 14 and finished top of the class. It was the same unit that played a key role in the recovery of 1,000 M-14 rifles on board the M/V Karagatan in Isabela in 1971.

De Leon is also remembered for escorting the Marcos family to Hawaii during the people power revolt in 1986.

When he returned to the country, De Leon, who was then a lieutenant colonel, was kept on floating status for a year until he was tapped to be the director for Davao del Norte.

At the age of 44, he was promoted to star rank and become one of the country’s youngest generals. He then went on to hold 18 other various positions at the PNP, among them as director of Cavite PNP, the Central Police District (CPD); PRO 5 and 6, staff positions at Camp Crame, director of the NCRPO and as head of the Philippine Center for Transnational Crimes (PCTC), DCO, DCA and AIDSOTF.

He was a recipient of 96 medals and a numerous citations and commendations of various categories, here and abroad.

Two of the awards he cherishes most are the coveted PMAAA Cavalier Award as Outstanding Military Professional in 1990 when he served as provincial commander of Negros Oriental, and the Police Cavalier Award for Excellence in Command and Administration in 2004.