Solon hails Ebdane appointment

"Watch your back."

Rep. Jun Lozada gave this advice yesterday to Deputy Director General Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. whose appointment as the next chief of the Philippine National Police he described as "highly commendable."

"Gen. Ebdane is a man of action and his sterling performance makes him most qualified to head the country’s 113,000-strong police organization. President Arroyo has made the right choice," Lozada said.

Lozada conceded, though, that there are certain quarters that might not be too happy to see Ebadane succeed as the next PNP chief. These groups, he said, could exhaust all means possible to attain their objective of easing Ebdane out.

"They could go full blast on their black propaganda now that he has been named as the next PNP chief," Lozada, chairman of the House committee on foreign relations, said.

Lozada noted the full-page advertisements in newspapers allegedly placed by junior PNP officers opposing Ebdane’s appointment right after President Arroyo pronounced that he was her personal choice.

Lozada also mentioned the "text brigade" utilized by Ebdane’s detractors to discredit him. "Fortunately, President Arroyo did not pay any attention to the malicious text messages," Lozada said.