Gen. Marbil needs all the support he can get
I’M referring to the need of the new PNP chief General Rommel Marbil to be fully supported by his officers and men as he carries on his herculean task of leading the 232,000-strong force in fighting criminality and terror and continuing its massive reform program.
The member of PMA ‘Sambisig’ Class of 1991 really surprised everybody present in Monday’s change of command ceremony at Camp Crame when he suddenly sat beside President Marcos Jr., DILG Secretary Benhur Abalos and his newly-retired mistah Gen. Benjie Acorda.
Months before that or last December 3 to be exact, the PNP denied a Facebook post that PBBM has chosen the then PNP Comptroller as the 30th PNP chief vice Gen. Acorda who eventually was given a 3-month extension by the Commander-in-Chief.
Last week, rumors also flew thick and fast that Gen. Marbil will be the incoming PNP chief even though the March 27 change of command ceremony was postponed to April 1 or last Monday when the latter made history as the 1st Manila boy to be appointed by PBBM as his 3rd PNP chief after designating two Ilocanos in the person of Gen. Jun Azurin of PMA ‘Makatao’ Class of 1989 and Gen. Acorda as his first two top cops.
The 30th PNP chief bested a number of candidates for the top post which include his classmates from PMA Class 1991 and members of PMA ‘Tanglaw-Diwa’ Class of 1992 who are also expected to have their own time in the very near future.
As I have said since covering the PNP from 1991 to date, the PNP already had 29 chiefs, the first being the late Gen. Cesar P. Nazareno and the 29th being Acorda who really did a very good job ins 11-month stint. All the PNP chiefs the country has had since 1991 were all Peemayers too.
Thus, officials said that President Marcos really had to make another brilliant decision when it comes to again choosing his 3rd top cop. In the end, Gen. Marbil appeared to really have the good service reputation, a sterling service record, the integrity and most important of them all, loyalty to the Constitution and the duly-constituted authorities as he was picked by PBBM.
While sitting at the Camp Crame stage with former PNP chiefs Nick Bartolome and Jun Ebdane, now the Zambales governor and my good friend Nap Magno of San Miguel Corp., I was able to watch the developments before PBBM’s arrival.
Already in the front row is Gen. Marbil’s classmate, PNP Deputy Chief for Administration, Lieutenant Gen. Bong Peralta who was designated last March 27 as PNP Officer-in-Charge ‘effective March 31, 2024 until a replacement is appointed or until otherwise directed by this office,” said a memorandum from Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin.
The family of the PNP’s no. 2 official was also present to witness the event until some 20 minutes later, somebody whispered to us that there will be a new PNP chief. We were grappling for answers until Gen. Marbil entered the stage minus his wife Mary Rose and daughter Roby Marie, and sat one chair away from PBBM. In short, even Gen. Marbil’s family was completely taken by surprise as they were not around when he took his oath of office.
The rest is history as they say. The Manila Boy took over as the new PNP chief with a major promise to keep all Filipinos safe in the streets and in the confines of their homes round-the-clock.
The 55-year old Marbil who will retire from the police force on February 7 next year has taken over as the 30th PNP chief after heading the PNP Directorate for Comptrollership from May 2, 2023 to April 1, 2024. He actually became the 2nd PNP Comptroller to become a PNP chief after Gen. Archie Gambo of PMA ‘Sinagtala’ Class of 1986.
Prior to that, Gen. Marbil had a successful stint as Police Regional Office 8 director in Eastern Visayas where he led his men in addressing criminality and insurgency from August 8, 2022 to May 2, 2023. He also commanded the PNP Highway Patrol Group from November 19, 2021 to August 8, 2022.
With his very powerful job, Gen. Marbil needs to get the support of all police generals-his classmates and underclassmen as well as those from the PNP Academy and other sources of commission in the police force in order to fulfill his promise to the President and to the Filipino people.
PBBM had challenged him to work with other government agencies in curbing what he described as “emerging threats” to national security: cybercrime, transnational crimes and terrorism and lead a police force that is “pro-God, pro-country, pro-people, pro-environment.”
Gen. Marbil also need the support of the Church, the media, the religious and business sector and the rest of the country as he does his job. Wishing all the best to the new Sheriff in town.
