Senior officer takes over as new Philippine top cop

A senior officer on Thursday announced a major revamp as he took over as the new chief of the 180,000-strong Philippine National Police (PNP) amid its intensified campaign against illegal drugs and rampant criminality.

Director Oscar Albayalde took over as the PNP chief in turnover ceremonies presided over by President Rodrigo “Rody” Duterte from Director General General Ronald dela Rosa held at the agency’s national headquarters in Camp Crame, suburban Quezon City in Metro Manila.

Albayalde said he was implementing the revamp following an assurance from Duterte that he would not meddle on reassignments at the PNP.

“He (Duterte) assured me he will not intervene with our organisation, with our decisions,” Albayalde told PNP reporters in an interview before the turnover ceremonies.

Heading the revamp was Director Camilo Pancratius Cascolan, the chief of the PNP Directorate for Operations, who replaced Albayalde as the head of the Metro Manila regional police command.

Albayalde pointed out that Cascolan was a veteran ield oficer who also once served as the chief of the regional police command in Mindanao.

Replacing Cascolan was Chief Superintendent Maria Aplasca, the former head of the Calabarzon command, one of country’s richest and fastest-growing regions as host to big foreign and local business companies in its export processing zones.

Calabarzon stands for the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon in Southern Luzon.