TWO graduates of the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) this week were named as new police regional office directors, the Journal Group learned on Tuesday.

The two are Brigadier Gen. Jerry F. Bearis, a member of PNPA Class 1993 who has been designated as the new Police Regional Office 7 (PRO 7) director in Central Visayas, and Brig. Gen. Percival A. Rumbaoa of PNPA Class 1992 was named as the new PRO 2 director in Cagayan Valley.

Bearis, the erstwhile Deputy Regional Director for Administration of the PRO 3 in Central Luzon, replaced Brig. Gen. Roderick Augustus B. Alba, who was transferred as PNP Deputy Director for Human Resource and Doctrine Development after a two-month stint as Central Visayas police director.

On the other hand, Rumbaoa, the chief of the PNP Liaison Office for the Office of the President since October 2021, was designated as the new PRO 2 director vice newly-retired Brig. Gen. Steve B. Ludan.

Alba replaced Brig. Gen. Alexander C. Tagum of PNPA Class 1991 has been transferred to PRO 11 in Southern Mindanao. Tagum, a former PRO 11 director, will be the incoming head of the newly-formed Davao Metropolitan District Command, the Journal Group learned.

PNP Chief General Rodolfo S. Azurin Jr. said that they decided to appoint Tagum as head of the newly-strengthened unit in Davao City.

Rumbaoa became the new PRO 2 director with the retirement of Brig. Gen. Ludan, a bemedaled member of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) “Tanglaw-Diwa” Class of 1992, officially retired on Tuesday at the age of 56 after more than 34 years of service in the military and the police force.

Ludan was commended by Azurin for steering the Cagayan Valley police force to “greater heights” since he became the PRO 2 director on July 19, 2021. As PRO 2 chief, Ludan was known to have effectively led his men in fighting drugs, criminality, terror and corruption while instituting major administrative reforms in the Cagayan Valley police force.

Rumbaoa is not new to PRO 2 since he was a Santiago City Police Office chief in 2018. He was also a Deputy Regional Director for Administration of the PNP Aviation Security Group.

As the new PRO 2 director, Rumbaoa will be supervising the enforcement of all laws to keep peace and order in the provinces of Batanes, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, and Quirino to make them ideal places to live, work and do business.

The region is also host to the chartered cities of Cauayan, Ilagan, Santiago, and Tuguegarao.

On the other hand, Bearis, who used to be an Eastern Police District (EPD) director, will be commanding the PRO 7, which has supervision over the provinces of Cebu, Siquijor, Bohol, and Negros Oriental and the three highly-urbanized cities of Cebu, Lapu-Lapu, and Mandaue.

He will be taking over the Central Visayas police force, which has launched a massive crackdown against underground “e-sabong” (online cockfighting) operations as ordered by Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benjamin “Benhur” C. Abalos.

Under Alba, the PRO7 launched a massive crackdown against secret e-sabong operations this month, resulting in the arrest of nearly 300 persons and the confiscation of more than P155,000 in cash bets as well as eight computer sets and 52 cellphones being used to play the game.

Under Alba, the PRO7 also topped the Unit Performance Evaluation for November made by the PNP Directorate for Personnel and Records Management.

The no. 1 ranking of the Central Visayas police force among all 17 Police Regional Offices earned its commendation from Azurin, who cited the consistency displayed by the PRO 7 both operationally and administratively, leading to a 5.24% overall crime reduction in the region.

The PRO 7 also recorded the highest reduction in crime across the country as evaluated from January to December 9 this year by the PNP Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management headed by Major Gen. Eliseo DC Cruz.

PRO 7 reported 3,633 focus crimes during the period compared to the 4,006 it registered during the same period in 2021, or a significant crime reduction of 10.65 percent.

The PRO 7’s high “Crime Clearance Efficiency and Crime Solution Efficiency” reflected the efficiency and competency of the “Bisdak Cops” of Central Visayas regarding keeping the peace and order situation in the region manageable.

The PRO 7 recorded 37,444 total crime incidents in the region this year, which is 2,070 cases lower than the 39,514 crime incidents it posted last year.

Meanwhile, the peace and order indicator, categorized as index crimes and non-index crimes, has also gone down by 9.84%, where index crimes, known as crimes of serious nature, decreased by 385 cases. The PRO 7 also noted 1,926 fewer non-index crimes during the period.

The PRO 7’s intensified campaign against illegal drugs under Alba also left a remarkable result as Team PNP Region 7 registered the biggest amount of illegal drugs confiscated from January 1, 2022, to November 30, 2022 among the 17 police regional offices.

The 5,556 anti-illegal drug operations conducted by PRO 7 agents so far this year led to the arrest of 6,767 drug personalities and the confiscation of more than P866 million worth of shabu, dried marijuana leaves and cocaine. The seized drugs include nearly 126 kilograms of high-grade shabu and some 81.5 kilos of marijuana leaves.