Indecision

There is no clear indication yet how soon and who  President Benigno “Noy” Aquino III will appoint to replace resigned Philippine National Police (PNP) director-general Alan Purisima. Though he is due to retire on Nov. 21 this year, the erstwhile PNP chief jumped the gun and tendered instead his resignation.

Actually, Purisima’s resignation came while he was still serving 60-day preventive suspension by the Ombudsman in connection with ongoing investigation of a graft case filed against him. But while placed under preventive suspension since Dec. 4 last year, it turned out Purisima was directing a top-secret mission in which he deployed men and resources of the PNP’s elite anti-terrorism troopers from the Special Action Force (SAF).

 However, the operation turned tragic when 44 elite SAF policemen were killed in action while trying to arrest two most wanted terrorist bombers hiding in the town of Mamasapano, Maguindanao last Jan. 25. Holding himself “accountable” for the high casualty turnout, Purisima resigned as PNP chief.

With admitted great reluctance, President Aquino announced his acceptance of Purisima’s resignation effective Feb. 6.

In his first TV address three days after the tragic incident, President Aquino relieved SAF chief Director Getulio Napeñas who was finally replaced last Monday by Chief Superintendent Virgilio Moro Lazo. It is a homecoming of sorts for Lazo, who first joined the SAF upon graduation from the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) in 1984 and stayed until 1989.

The appointment of Lazo came more than a month after the tragic mission assigned by Purisima to Napeñas. The execution of Oplan Exodus – to capture one of the most wanted international terrorist bombers, Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan – turned bloody when Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and other private armed groups entered into battle with outnumbered SAF troopers.

In the meantime, PNP officer-in-charge Leonardo Espina remains at the helm while their Commander-in-chief has yet to make up his mind. President Aquino has reportedly interviewed Espina, one of two candidates for new PNP chief.

PNP directorial staff chief Deputy Director General Marcelo Garbo Jr. is the other front-running candidate interviewed by the President last Monday. Garbo reportedly first impressed Mr. Aquino when the former PNP regional director of Central Visayas outmaneuvered then suspended Cebu Gov. Gwen Garcia into leaving her office at the provincial capitol without violent incident.

While Espina is also retiring this July, a much younger Garbo, on the other hand, is set to retire on March 2, 2016. Like Purisima, both Espina and Garbo are members of PMA Class 1981. There are at least five other members of that class in the PNP that could qualify as next PNP chief but they are also about to retire in the coming months.

Next in line are members of PMA Class 1982 who are all currently occupying key positions in the PNP. They include Director Benjamin Magalong, head of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and the Board of Inquiry formed to investigate the Mamasapano encounter; Director Carmelo Valmoria, chief of the National Capital Regional Police Office (NCRPO); and Director Ricardo Marquez, head of Directorate for Operations. Each of them has stood out in his merits and accomplishments in the last five years of the Aquino administration.

Valmoria led SAF forces that drove away Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) rebels from Zamboanga City. He was also credited for restoring order in Tacloban City when it was hit by massive looting after Super Typhoon Yolanda. He, however, will reach the mandatory retirement age of 56 on July 16 this year.

Another candidate to the top PNP post is Police Director Juanito Vaño, currently deputy chief for logistics. Vaño belongs to PMA Class ’83 and is due to retire in May 2016. Vaño’s detractors, however, identify him as one of the protégés of Purisima.

If retirement age is considered, Magalong and Marquez fit in the transition period when President Aquino steps down from office on June 30,2016 and gives way to the new Commander-in-chief who be will be sworn into office on the same day. Magalong and Marquez will both retire in 2016 yet, on Dec. 15 and Aug. 28, respectively. 

Actually, retirement age should be of no consequence since President Aquino is allowed by existing laws to extend the tour of duty of the PNP chief. If the Commander-in-chief so wishes, he could also apply “deep selection” process to appoint much younger officers.

There are also quite a number of vacant top posts in key constitutional offices that President Aquino has yet to fill following the retirement one after the other of their previous holders last month. But obviously, the Chief Executive is intentionally delaying it because the 16th Congress is slated to go on Lenten break starting March 21.

The chairman’s post in three constitutional offices is vacant up to now. These are the Commission on Audit (COA), the Civil Service Commission (CSC) and the Commission on Elections (Comelec). Aside from the vacant chairman’s post, two more commissioners are needed to fill the seven-man Comelec en banc. 

These presidential appointees must pass through the confirmation wringers of the 25-man Commission on Appointments (CA). So while Congress is in recess, President Aquino can issue ad interim appointments to allow the appointees to assume their posts immediately.

Unlike his Armed Forces counterpart, the PNP chief is not among government officials subject to CA confirmation. So this could not be the reason for President Aquino’s indecision in appointing a permanent PNP chief. 

Even if he resigned as PNP chief, Purisima has not retired yet. The chief PNP – a four-star rank general – becomes vacant only after Purisima retires. So, the successor of Purisima, once appointed as new PNP chief, would remain in “acting” capacity.

The latest official pronouncement is that President Aquino is still in a vetting process. The Commander-in-chief’s indecision stems from his trying to pick the best replacement to approximate the rabid loyalty and trustworthiness of his disgraced PNP chief.