No successor yet for outgoing PNP chief

MANILA, Philippines — With less than a month before Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. bows out of the service, there is no word yet on his possible successor.

The first chief of the 227,000-strong PNP under President Marcos’ administration, the soft-spoken Azurin is set to retire on April 24.

Marcos can choose from any of the star-rank officers in the PNP as the next leader of the country’s police force.

At least six names have cropped up as Azurin’s possible successor. Among them are PNP deputy chief for administration Lt. Gen. Rhodel Sermonia and Lt. Gen. Michael John Dubria, chief of the directorial staff.

The other possible contenders are Maj. Gen. Eliseo Cruz, director of the Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management (DIDM); PNP deputy chief for operations Maj. Gen. Jonnel Estomo; National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) head Maj. Gen. Edgar Alan Okubo and Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) director Brig. Gen. Romeo Caramat Jr.

Cruz is the most senior among the six as he will retire on June 14.

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla recently lauded Cruz for the innovations he introduced in the PNP, specifically the digital booking system or e-booking, which modernizes the booking process of persons arrested for crimes.

With the new system, the collection and cross-matching of fingerprints through the Automated Fingerprint identification System would be faster and more efficient.

Before he became DIDM head, Cruz was the director of the CIDG and has supervised the probe on the kidnapping and disappearance of 34 cockfight players or sabungeros.

He also headed the Calabarzon police, Highway Patrol Group, Northern Police District and Southern Police District.

Sermonia was initially reassigned by Azurin as director of the Area Police Command in the Visayas but was brought back as the No. 2 man in the PNP.

He has managed the affairs of the PNP every time Azurin has official trips abroad.

Sermonia, who will retire on Jan. 6, 2024, also headed the Directorate for Police Community Relations and Central Luzon police.

Dubria served as director of the Civil Security Group and had stints as head of the Directorate for Intelligence and Police Regional Office 12. He will retire on Dec. 20, 2024.

Prior to his latest post as the No. 3 man in the PNP, Estomo was known as the director of the NCRPO.

Among Estomo’s notable achievements was solving the murder of broadcaster Percy Lapid in Las Piñas wherein former Bureau of Corrections chief Gerald Bantag was tagged as the mastermind.

Estomo used to head the Bicol police and also served as director of the Anti-Kidnapping Group. He will retire on Nov. 25, 2024.

Caramat, on the other hand, is currently supervising the probe of the murder of Negros Oriental governor Roel Degamo and eight other people as CIDG director.

He had stints as head of the Caraga police and the PNP Drug Enforcement Group.

He also led the crackdown of scalawags in uniform as director of the Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group. He will retire on Oct. 2, 2024.

The youngest of the six is Okubo, who will retire on May 21, 2026. Before his current post as NCRPO chief, he served as director of the elite Special Action Force.

The two-star general from Benguet earlier declared he will assign policewomen as desk officers in police stations in Metro to further boost relations with the community.

Should he be chosen, Okubo will be the first graduate of the Philippine National Police Academy to lead the PNP.