Okubo launches R-PSB program to win back public trust, confidence
NATIONAL Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) director, Major General Edgar Alan O. Okubo is fully bent on a mission to win back the trust and confidence of the public to the metropolitan police force, this time bringing his vaunted Revitalized-Pulis Sa Barangay or R-PSB program in the metropolis.
As part of his efforts to further intensify police presence and bring real government service much closer to the Metro Manila community specifically the so-called ‘crime-prone areas,’ the member of Philippine Military Academy (PMA) ‘Tagapagpatupad’ Class of 1992 last Friday led the opening ceremony of the R-PSB course in Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan, Taguig City.
The official who wrote history when he became the first PNPA graduate to head the elite PNP Special Action Force (SAF) and eventually, the NCRPO said the seven-day training aims to equip the 240 participants from the five NCRPO police districts and their Regional Mobile Force with the knowledge, skills, and values required of a Revitalized-Pulis sa Barangay operative and make them a vital cog in helping local government units bring real government service to the people specifically the ‘poorest of the poor.’
This undertaking aims to assist LGUs in their efforts to provide good governance and deliver real government service to the public consistent with the PNP’s vision to ensure a safer place to live, work, and do business .
Maj. Gen. Okubo said that it is also in consonance with PNP chief, General Rodolfo S. Azurin Jr.’s peace and security framework dubbed as the MKK=K which is short for Malasakit, Kaayusan at Kapayapaan Tungo sa Kaunlaran.
As planned by the NCRPO chief, their R-PSB personnel will immerse with the people of Metro Manila not to only to target terrorists and criminals but most importantly, to listen to their grievances and other concerns.
He launched the same project when he was still the PNP-SAF director wherein police commandos have partnered with different agencies and stakeholders to build small schools, farm-to-market roads, bridges and stairs, potable water systems, churches, and other worship areas, and even homes for the needy in far-flung areas in the country.
Under Okubo, the PNP-SAF has transformed into a unit with a real “heart for the poor” with commandos even teaching young kids living in far-flung areas basic English, Filipino, and Mathematics; aiding sick women and the elderly, transporting pregnant wives to the hospital, conducting free haircuts, circumcisions, and livelihood seminars and helping thousands of indigenous people get their certificate of birth registration.
“The R-PSB is a six-month immersion program. You need to understand the functions of our partner national agencies to address the issues and concerns of the community to do community or government services leaving behind the usual peace and law enforcement functions. We are going out of our confined box to serve with our hearts,” the official said.
He also encouraged the participants to give their best service to the PNP and avoid being involved in any illegal activities. “Let’s serve this organization with pride and loyalty,” said the tough police official known for having a “heart for the poor.’
Last February 24, Maj. Gen. Okubo took over as the new NCRPO chief vice Maj. Gen. Jonnel C. Estomo, a member of Philippine Military Academy (PMA) ‘Tanglaw-Diwa’ Class of 1992 who is now the new PNP Deputy Chief for Operations, a position that will earn him his 3rd-star.
Okubo was replaced as PNP-SAF director by his PNPA Class 1992 classmate, Brigadier Gen. Rudolph B. Dimas who is also set to be promoted to the rank of Police Major General with his new position.
Maj. Gen. Okubo assumed the top SAF position on August 4 last year and launched his own version of the R-PSB program in the elite unit while at the same time leading the SAF’s successful campaign against terrorism and criminality, the SAF being the “main muscle” of the police force when it comes to conducting anti-terror and anti-crime raids and arrests.
One of the youngest PNPA Class 1992 members—he will be retiring on May 21, 2026–Okubo in 2017 was named as the Cebu Provincial Police Office (PPO) director and became known for his “strict” internal cleansing policy and “no-nonsense” drive against drugs and other forms of criminality.
He became the Police Regional Office (PRO) 11 Deputy Regional Director for Operations and later Deputy Regional Director for Administration in Southern Mindanao under then Brigadier Gen., now Lieutenant Gen. Filmore B. Escobal, the current Area Police Command-Eastern Mindanao commander.
As PRO 11 DRDO and DRDA, he supervised the massive implementation of the PRO 11’s R-PSB program, which aimed to bring real government service to the “poorest of the poor” specifically those living in so-called “Geographically Isolated and Advantageous Areas” (GIDAS) to win their hearts and minds.
The program has been hailed as a “landmark” success in Southern Mindanao when it comes to regaining the trust and confidence of the poor and the underprivileged in the government.
The new NCRPO director said he will replicate the programs of Estomo and would see to it that the metropolitan police force will be much closer to the public and, as Maj. Gen. Estomo has been saying, a police force that can easily be “seen, felt and appreciated by the citizenry thru their extraordinary good deeds.”
