Philippine National Police

Top contenders: Who will replace PNP chief Archie Gamboa?

Rambo Talabong

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Top contenders: Who will replace PNP chief Archie Gamboa?
We list the top 3 contenders and a wild card in replacing soon-to-retire Philippine National Police chief General Archie Gamboa

With another top cop retiring, President Rodrigo Duterte is set to choose his next Philippine National Police (PNP) chief at a critical time for the police force that is already stretched out in enforcing his campaign promises and standing as frontliners in the coronavirus pandemic.

Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año said he has submitted the top 3 contenders to President Duterte. 

Being a retired military general, Año noted that he respects seniority in the police force in making his recommendation, but stopped short of naming the police officials he suggested to the President.

From Rappler’s previous piece on the possible successors of disgraced police chief Oscar Albayalde, Archie Gamboa emerged as Duterte’s pick.

Gamboa is set to retire from the police service on September 2, when he turns 56. President Duterte has not expressed any intention of extending his term as police chief.

The other two recommended to replace Albayalde remain to be contenders in the PNP chief position, but they are now faced with a new set of circumstances ever since they were recommended as successors. 

There are also at least two wild cards that could be picked by President Duterte, who also favors appointments of police officials he has worked with in Davao when he was a mayor, or those backed by people he trusts like his former aide and now senator Bong Go.

Here are the top contenders for Duterte’s 4th PNP chief.

Cascolan: Two months only?

NEXT IN LINE. Lieutenant General Camilo Cascolan. PNP photo

Lieutenant General Camilo Cascolan is currently the Deputy Chief for Administration of the PNP, which is the second-highest post in the police organization.

If seniority will be strictly followed, he would be next in line to Gamboa. 

Earlier on in his career, he had also worked with President Duterte when he was chief of the Davao Region Police Office Finance Service. He interacted more with Go, Cascolan earlier told Rappler in an interview.

Cascolan also brushed shoulders with Duterte as the provincial police chief of the Compostela Valley Police Provincial Office.

The closest post to Davao City that Cascolan held was the Davao Region Police Office where he was the fourth highest-placed official – he was chief of the directorial staff.

Cascolan also belongs to the current ruling Philippine Military Academy class in the PNP and the emerging ruling class in the military. He belongs to the Sinagtala Class of 1986 – the same class as the cop most trusted by President Duterte, Ronald dela Rosa.

With Dela Rosa, Cascolan crafted Oplan Double Barrel – the police’s bible in the Duterte administration’s anti-illegal drugs campaign that operationalized the controversial Oplan Tokhang that has left thousands killed.

Even with the edge in seniority and connections, time is not in Cascolan’s favor. He is set to retire in two months. Cascolan turns 56, the mandatory age of retirement, on November 10.

A short amount of time before retirement, however, did not stop Duterte from appointing General Rey Guerrero in October 2017 as the chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Guerrero also had only two months left before retirement.

Duterte later extended Guerrero’s term for 4 months before he retired in April 2018 and was later appointed Maritime Industry Authority chief then Bureau of Customs chief.

In the end, it will depend on whether Cascolan enjoys the same level of confidence from Duterte even with his limiting circumstances.

Eleazar: The media star

UP FRONT. Lieutenant General Guillermo Eleazar. Photo from Eleazar’s Facebook page

Lieutenant General Guillermo Eleazar is the Deputy Chief for Operations of the PNP, making him the third-highest official in the police organization and the next in line for being the top cop after Cascolan in terms of seniority.

Eleazar continues to be the show horse in the race. After Gamboa was chosen as the next police chief, Eleazar continued to be seen and heard on television broadcasts and read about in newspaper stories on crime.

Unlike Cascolan who focuses on policy and administration of the PNP usually from behind the scenes, Eleazar has been front and center in the PNP’s response to the pandemic.

As the PNP’s deputy chief of operations, Eleazar was named chief of the Joint Task Force COVID SHIELD, a hybrid task force of the police and the military in enforcing quarantine rules and assisting in relief response across the country.

Eleazar does not share connections with Duterte. He was never assigned in the Davao Region. He is also not part of the PNP-ruling PMA Class of 1986. He belongs to the PMA Hinirang Class of 1987.

But he is still the only one among the candidates who has been praised by Duterte in public for his aggressive and media-coverage-heavy policing in Metro Manila.

When Eleazar went viral for his outburst on the cop accused of extortion, Duterte approved of it, saying, “Tell him I’ve got his back.”

Eleazar is set to retire in November 2021.

Binag: The Harvard grad

DECORATED. In this file photo, Lieutenant General Cesar Hawthorne Binag speaks at the Aklan Provincial Police Office. Aklan police photo

Lieutenant General Cesar Hawthorne Binag is the Chief of the Directorial Staff of the PNP, the fourth highest position in the police force.

He comes after Eleazar in terms of seniority.

Binag is known in Camp Crame as a soft-spoken general who prefers to work than to release public statements, much more speak with the media during regular press conferences.

Usually in administrative work like Cascolan, Binag has chaired numerous key committees and groups like the PNP’s Internal Cleansing Committee which oversees the implementation of the PNP’s so-called “revitalized” internal cleansing program to weed out bad cops in the force.

He was also the chair of the PNP study group that crafted guidelines for the “new normal” for the PNP under the pandemic.

Before his rise as the chief of the directorial staff, Binag was assigned to an eclectic range of posts as general: chief of the Western Visayas regional police office, chief of the PNP’s Firearms and Explosives Office, and chief of the Directorate for Information and Communications Technology Management.

Binag is also known for pursuing further studies beyond PMA.

In 2011, he graduated from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government with a Master in Public Administration. While there, he was an Edward S. Mason Program fellow in Public Policy and Management.

Binag has no direct links with President Duterte. Like Eleazar, he also belongs to the PMA Hinirang Class of 1987. 

He also holds a Master’s in Development Management from the Asian Institute of Management. He is set to retire in April 2021.

Danao: The wild card

DAVAO BOY. Brigadier General Vicente Danao at the Manila Police District. File photo by Rambo Talabong/Rappler

Brigadier General Vicente Danao Jr is currently the chief of the Calabarzon police station. He has two less stars on his shoulders compared to his seniors but arguably enjoys the most trust from Duterte.

Prior to his assignment in Southern Luzon, he was tasked to lead the Manila Police District. Before his stint at the capital, he was the deputy chief for operations of the powerful Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.

Danao is one of the police officials considered true blue “Davao boys” – the policemen who worked extensively in Davao with the President before he was given prime positions in Metro Manila.

Danao has stood with Duterte for decades, starting out as a special force cop right after he graduated from the Philippine Military Academy in 1991.

He was always by Duterte’s side even up to 2015 when the former Davao mayor was receiving politicians and businessmen from all over the country, prodding him to run for president. Danao had to secure their travels to city hall and back to the airport.

Despite holding the plum posts, Danao rarely made appearances and statements to propel him above his subordinates. 

He is present in raids when needed, and makes appearances during the presentation of suspects, but he does not engage in sensational spectacles and media-tailed patrols.

He belongs to the PMA Sambisig Class of 1991.

Danao’s retirement is far off. His mandatory date of retirement is on August 10, 2023, making him a possible appointee up to the end of Duterte’s term as president even if he is not chosen now to replace Gamboa.

Another wild card is Metro Manila police chief Major General Debold Sinas, who, despite violating quarantine rules by celebrating his birthday party under lockdown, was defended by the President and was even described by Duterte as someone he needed.

Police sources also said another possible appointee could be current Director for Operations Major General Emmanuel Licup, who, like Eleazar, belongs to the PMA Class of 1987.  – Rappler.com

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Rambo Talabong

Rambo Talabong covers the House of Representatives and local governments for Rappler. Prior to this, he covered security and crime. He was named Jaime V. Ongpin Fellow in 2019 for his reporting on President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs. In 2021, he was selected as a journalism fellow by the Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics.