‘Bittersweet’ goodbye for ‘the boy from Sogod’
Under the heat of a golden sunset, Chief Supt. Patrocinio Comendador Jr., a former director of the Central Visayas police, said goodbye to the Philippine National Police (PNP), which he served for 35 years.
Comendador, who served for more than three years as Cebu City police chief and for more than two years as head of the provincial PNP, received his retirement honors in the Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 headquarters in Cebu City.
“Such parting is only physical since in spirit, I’ll still be under your spell because you made me what I am today. I have always looked at you from the inside as one of the most beautiful things that happened in my life. Now is the chance for me to see you from the outside,” Comendador said in his open letter to the PNP.
He thanked both his superiors and subordinates for being with him throughout his service.
“Who would have thought that the boy from Sogod, Cebu would reach this far? But I wouldn’t have done it without the people who helped me throughout the way,” Comendador said.
In his speech, Comendador reminisced how happy he was when he received his star in December 2016 and served as regional director of the PNP.
In an interview, he described his retirement as bittersweet.
“Kahilakon ug naibtan og tunok (I’m teary-eyed but I also feel as if a thorn has been pulled from me). First, this organization has become part of me. Second, my shoulders are now free of some burdens,” he said.
Comendador is a member of the Philippine National Police Academy Class of 1985. He considered his stint as Cebu City police director as one of the highlights of his career.
“Especially in Cebu City, I have, more or less, abated the rise of crimes. It was a sort of baptism of fire for me because it was my first major command,” he said.
He plans to rest for a while, but will work in the private sector eventually. Police officers are mandated to retire at 56, although there are congressional bills to push the mandatory retirement age to 60.