Banac new EV police chief
PHILIPPINE National Police (PNP) chief General Dionardo B. Carlos on Monday installed a fellow former PNP spokesperson, the soft-spoken Brigadier Gen. Bernard M. Banac as the new Police Regional Office 8 (PRO8) Director in Eastern Visayas.
Gen. Carlos designated Banac as the new PRO8 director as Brig. Gen. Rommel Bernardo A. Cabagnot will be retiring from the police service this coming February 18. Cabagnot of PNPA Academy Class 1991 became the Eastern Visayas Police director on August 4 last year or six months before his retirement.
A former PNP spokesman and chief of the PNP Public Information before he was designated as director of the PNP Training Service on September 9, 2020, Banac is one of the youngest members of Philippine Military Academy “Tanglaw Diwa” Class of 1992 serving in the 225,000 strong police force. He will be retiring on September 26, 2026.
Banac thanked President Duterte, Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo M. Año, and Gen. Carlos for giving him the honor and privilege to occupy the top PRO8 post amid the new normal brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and the massive police preparations to ensure an honest, orderly and peaceful May 9 national and local elections.
The new PRO8 director described Gen. Carlos as his mentor in the “Bless Our Cops Movement.” Both are known as God-loving police officials and for being former PNP spokespersons – the PNP chief also used to be a PRO8 director.
For a start, the new Eastern Visayas police director said he will explore all possible means available to further improve and develop the PRO8 systems and procedures in both administrative and operational aspects of command management, police operations, and police-community relations.
“We will pursue with renewed vigor the operational thrusts of the PNP on internal security as well as in the overall campaign against high-profile crime, drug trafficking, heinous crime, and terrorism,” said Banac.
“The greater challenge, ladies and gentlemen is how to maintain our focus on this mission under a toxic environment of a public health emergency that limits our capacity to operate at an optimum level,” he added.
As the new PRO8 director, Brig. Gen. Banac will be in-charge of all police forces in Biliran, Eastern Samar, Leyte, Northern Samar, Samar and Southern Leyte. The region is also home to the famous Tacloban City.
