MANILA, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appointed Police General Rommel Francisco Marbil as the new Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, a day after he named an officer-in-charge (OIC) to take the place of retired police general Benjamin Acorda Jr.

As announced during the change of command and Acorda’s retirement ceremony on Monday, April 1, Marbil will be the new head of the 232,000-strong police force. Prior to his appointment, Marbil was the head of the PNP’s Directorate for Comptrollership.

Marbil, 55, will retire on February 7, 2025 after he reaches the mandatory retirement age of 56. This will be barely three months before the mid-term senatorial and local elections.

Marbil is Acorda’s classmate; they both belong to the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Sambisig Class of 1991. 

Marbil once headed the Eastern Visayas regional police – the home turf of House Speaker Martin Romualdez, the President’s cousin. Incidentally, Romualdez is an honorary member of PMA Class 1991.

The new PNP chief also served as head of the PNP Highway Patrol Group. In December last year, a photo stating that Marbil will replace Acorda made the rounds of social media. This prompted the PNP to issue a statement dispelling the information.

Marbil is Marcos’ third PNP chief and the 30th top cop since the national police’s inception in 1991.

One-day OIC

The announcement surprised not a few. On Sunday, March 31, Malacañang appointed Police Lieutenant General Emmanuel Peralta as acting PNP chief. Marbil’s appointment thus overwrote Peralta’s appointment, since the latter’s designation was effective “until a replacement is appointed or until otherwise directed by this [Malacañang] office.”

There was an expectation that Peralta would serve at least for months, like previous PNP OICs. However, Peralta served as acting PNP chief for less than 24 hours. This was quite unusual since the last two PNP OICs – retired police generals Archie Gamboa and Vicente Danao – served at least for several months. 

Gamboa was OIC for around three months and was eventually appointed PNP chief by former president Rodrigo Duterte. He served for almost a year before retiring in September 2020.

Danao, meanwhile, served for over three months. He was designated OIC on May 5, 2022 or a few days before the 2022 elections, and remained in the post until Marcos appointed retired police general Rodolfo Azurin Jr. as his first PNP chief in August 2022. – Rappler.com