Año to recommend 5 names for next PNP chief

AS THE retirement of Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Archie Gamboa draws near, speculations are rife on who will succeed him.

Gamboa is set to retire on Sept. 3, 2020, when he reaches the mandatory retirement age of 56.

Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020, said he will recommend five names, including those of the three-star generals.

“Pag-aaralan ko pa ‘yung mga two-star at one-star na puwede isama sa listahan (I will look into the two-star and one-star generals that I will include on the list),” he said.

The three-star generals are Lt. Gen. Camilo Pancratius Cascolan, deputy chief for administration; Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, deputy chief for operation; and Lt. Gen. Cesar Hawthorne Binag, chief of the directorial staff.

Cascolan, who is also a member of Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Sinagtala class of 1986 along with Gamboa, is set to retire on Nov. 10, while Eleazar, who is a member of PMA class 1987, will retire on Nov. 13, 2021.

Binag, Eleazar’s batchmate at the PMA, will retire on April 24, 2021.

Año said President Rodrigo Duterte may choose to appoint any police official provided that he has a star rank.

The other contenders for the top PNP post, according to sources, are Maj. Gen. Emmanuel Licup, Directorate for Operations director who will retire on April 9, 2021; Maj. Gen.

Debold Sinas, National Capital Region Police Office director who will retire on May 8, 2021; and Brig. Gen. Vicente Danao Jr., Calabarzon Police Regional Office chief who is set to retire in 2022.

Licup and Sinas are members of the PMA Hinirang class of 1987, while Danao is a member of the PMA Sambisig class of 1991.