PNPA ‘Kaagapay’ class of 1996 making waves
I’M referring to members of Philippine National Police Academy ‘Kaagapay’ Class of 1996 who have made waves or are still making waves in the 232,000-strong force 29 years after graduating from the fine police institution.
I learned from many friends that there were 168 graduates of the Class, with 25 composed of 18 males and seven females joining the Bureau of Fire Protection and 21 others consisting of 18 males and three females going to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology.
That means the rest of the ‘Kaagapays’ or 122 officers composed of 116 males and six females joined the police force upon graduation. At present, 70 of the 122 are still in the active police service; 15 have already retired 11 have passed away due to various reasons and 27 are no longer in the service.
For a little bit of history: the ‘Kaagapay’ Class was born three years after the PNP was created in 1991 to replace the Philippine Constabulary/Integrated National Police. More than 16,000 took the PNPA Cadet Admission Test that year, of which 800 passed. However, the number was further trimmed down to 2 ‘ablest and fittest’ applicants.
A total of 125 members of the Class took their oath of office on April 16, 1994 to undergo a 2-year cadetship training. However, on May 2, 1994, another batch was received and took oath as new cadets. They would later compose the Class 1997, the first PNP Class to undergo a 3-year cadetship training program.
Nearly three decades after graduation, 31 ‘Kaagapays’ have become police star-rank officials, 14 of them taking their oath of office before PNP chief, General Rommel Marbil only last Wednesday along with 18 others composed of four Major Generals and 14 newly-promoted Brigadier Generals.
The PNPA Class 1996 at present has two Police Regional Office directors; four Metro Manila police district directors; five National Operational or Administrative Support Unit directors; two ranking officials of the PNPA leading efforts to produce quality police officers in the future, one of them the wife of a classmate, thus there are two police generals in their family. Another member is a party-list representative named Jorge Bustos.
Of course, the most popular of them, no question about is PNP spokesperson and former PNP Public Information Office chief, Brigadier Gen. Jean Fajardo, a good friend way back from the good old days of the now defunct PNP Narcotics Command who is now the Police Regional Office 3 director in Central Luzon.
The new PNP star-rank officials from PNPA Class 1996 include Brig. Gen. Marvin Saro, the director of the Police-Community Affairs and Development Group; and Brig. Gen. Bonard Briton, the director of the Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group.
Both Saro and Briton have made a record of sort having been the Chief of Staff, then Deputy Director for Operations; and later Deputy Director for Administration of the PCADG and IMEG until Gen. Marbil designated them to their new posts in recognition of their good performance.
Then there are Brig. Gen. Josefino Ligan of the Northern Police District; Brig. Gen. Mel Buslig Jr. of the Quezon City Police District; and Brig. Gen. Villamor Tuliao of the Eastern Police District.
The others are Brig. Gen. Arnold Abad, the Deputy Director of the National Police Training Institute; Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Decena, the Deputy Regional Director for Administration (DRDA) of the Police Regional Office 3 in Central Luzon; Brig. Gen. Maria Sheila Portento, currently the PNPA Dean of Academics;
Brig. Gen. Glicerio Cansilao, the Executive Officer of the PNP Directorate for Intelligence; Brig. Gen. Vina Guzman, the PNPA Commandant of Cadets; Brig. Gen. Alexander Mariano, the DRDA of PRO6 in Western Visayas;
Brig. Gen. Romeo Espero Jr., the DRDA of PRO9 in Western Mindanao; Brig. Gen. Joselito Clarito, the DRDA of the PRO10 in Northern Mindanao; and Brig. Gen. Benliner Capili, the Executive Officer of the Directorate for Human Resource and Doctrine Development.
The 17 other PNPA Class 1996 products who got the star-rank are the following: Brig. Gen. Christopher Abrahano, currently the Regional Director of the PRO13 in Caraga region; Brig. Gen. Reynaldo Acosta, the head of the Regional Internal Affairs Service 5 in Bicol region;
Brig. Gen. Marlou Roy Alzate, the director of the PNP Supervisory Office for Security and Investigation Agencies; former Police-Community Affairs and Development Group director, now retired Brig. Gen. Resty Arcangel;
Brig. Gen. Jimmy Cadatal, the Executive Officer of the PNP Directorate for Logistics; Brig. Gen. Porfirio Calagan, the Executive Officer of the Directorate for Personnel and Records Management; Brig. Gen. Ericson Dilag, the director of the Firearms and Explosives Office;
Now retired Brig. Gen. Gideon Dy, formerly the Executive Officer of the Area Police Command-Western Mindanao; Brig. Gen. Fajardo who is doing a fine job as PRO3 director and concurrent PNP spokesperson;
Brig. Gen. Boyet Guzman, the Senior Executive Assistant of Gen. Marbil and husband of Vina, the PNPA Commandant of Cadets; Brig. Gen. Tom Ibay, the director of the Manila Police District; Brig. Gen. Cresenciano Landicho, the Executive Officer of the Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management; Brig. Gen. Luis Maria Pascual, the already retired Deputy Director of the National Police Training Institute;
Brig. Gen. Adolfo Rafanan, the Executive Officer of the Directorate for Research and Development; Brig. Gen. Rudecindo Reales, the Executive Officer of the Directorate for Comptrollership; Brig. Gen. Warren Tolito, the director of the PNP Communications and Electronics Service; and Brig. Gen. Alberto Villapando, the PNP Internal Affairs Service Region 4-A director.
Congratulations to these Lakans and Lakandulas. I also pray that the ‘Kaagapay’ Police Colonels will also be given the opportunity to get a position of major responsibility that will qualify them for promotion to the next higher rank.
