MPD exec named outstanding policewoman

MANILA, Philippines — The only female official to hold the distinction of heading the male-dominated Manila Police District (MPD) traffic enforcement unit (TEU) was chosen as one of the 10 most outstanding policewomen of the Philippines this year. 

Superintendent Olivia Sagaysay, currently MPD’s human resources and administration office chief, will be conferred the award along with nine other female officers later this month by the Zonta Club.

Sagaysay, who graduated seventh in her class at the Philippine National Police Academy in 2001, hails from Nueva Vizcaya and was a former community organizer for a non-government organization before joining the police force. 

After graduation, she was assigned to the Special Action Force and later to the MPD, where she became the youngest female officer with the rank of chief inspector to assume the post of MPD-TEU chief, a position usually reserved for male superintendents and senior superintendents. 

Her stint at the traffic bureau paved the way for her promotion to superintendent and her reassignment to the MPD Station 8, where she led an anti-illegal drug operation at the Islamic Center in Quiapo. Eight drug suspects, including the barangay chairman, were killed during the operation. 

It was also during the operation that several corpses were discovered in a secret graveyard. The bodies were reported to be victims of drug syndicates. 

Sagaysay, who was also a finalist in the Metrobank Foundation search for Top Ten Outstanding Filipinos last year, is the only policewoman to become a station commander in Metro Manila.