FORMER Philippine National Police Officer-in-Charge (PNP-OIC), Lieutenant General Vicente Dupa Danao retires from the police force today, August 10 after serving the police force with distinction for nearly 37 years.

A member of Philippine Military Academy ‘Sambisig’ Class of 1991, Lt. Gen. Danao, ‘Vic or Ka Enteng’ to his classmates, peers, family and colleagues will bow out from the service as director of the Area Police Command-Western Mindanao.

One of his classmates is PNP chief, General Benjamin C. Acorda Jr.

Many have known him as the tough-talking former Manila Police District director who eventually became a director of the Police Regional Office 4-A in Calabarzon region and later National Capital Region Police Office chief in Metro Manila.

On March 2022, he was designated as PNP The Chief Directorial Staff, the 4th highest position in the 228,000-strong organization and eventually was named as Officer-in-Charge of the police force with the retirement on May 8 of then PNP chief, Gen. Dionardo B. Carlos.

He commanded the PNP until August 1, 2022 and became known as the 28th product of the PNP to lead the police force. He was also the 8th general designated by former President Rodrigo Duterte to command the PNP during his 6-year term.

A known Duterte protégé, Gen. Danao rose to fame in Metro Manila as an officer with a ‘heart for the poor’ but a nemesis of criminals and rogues in uniform.

Even in the early days of the Duterte administration, Gen. Danao had been considered as a top PNP Chief contender owing to his strong ties with the latter. He served as Davao City police chief when the firebrand Duterte was till its mayor.

He was the MPD director from November 9, 2018 to October 20, 2019 and served under former Mayors Joseph E. Estrada and Francisco ‘Isko’ Moreno.

He also held the position as Davao City Police Office chief from October 18, 2013 to June 24, 2016—replaced then Colonel, turned former PNP chief and now Senator Ronald ‘Bato’ M. dela Rosa, before being succeeded by another classmate, now PNP Deputy Chief for Operations, Lt. Gen. Michael John F. Dubria.

Born on August 10, 1967 in Bayombong, Nueva Viscaya , the official was transferred to the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group during the early years of the Duterte administration and became its Deputy Director for Operations and task force commander of the Inter-Agency Committee on Illegal Drugs.

He was raised in Bayombong and attended Saint Mary’s College where he completed his high school education in 1984. After that, he entered the PMA in Fort del Pilar in Baguio City and graduated in 1991.

After graduation, he joined the Southern Mindanao Regional Special Action Force and helped fought insurgents in Surigao del Sur for four years.

In 1995, he became a commander of the Special Weapons and Tactics or SWAT of the Davao City Police Office and earned his first promotion to Senior Inspector the following year when he became a Davao City police station commander.

Lt. Gen. Danao was posted to five different districts in Davao City—Baguio, Marilog, Calinan, Sasa and Talomo districts- as station chief beginning in 1996.

He got the rank of Police Superintendent in 2003 when he was the Talomo police station chief.

He eventually held several positions in the Police Regional Office 11.

A known very vocal opponent of drug traffickers in the country, the official also had many ups and downs in his career and was even suspended once after being accused of involvement in the purported Davao Death Squad, charges which were eventually dropped by the court.

He got the rank of Chief Superintendent when he became the MPD director in November 2018. As MPD chief, he became famous for his crackdown against misfits and scalawags in uniform as well as local government officials.

When he became the PRO4-A director in October 2019, he led a successful anti-criminality and anti-insurgency campaign in the region and supervise efforts to convince 131 New People’s Army members to surrender during the period.

The official is a bemedalled cop who once received the PNP Heroism Medal of Medalya ng Kadakilaan for his outstanding performance in the successful rescue of an Indian kidnapping victim in Davao City in April 2015.