LIEUTENANT General Rhodel O. Sermonia, a known stalwart advocate of police-community relations, is now the 2nd highest official in the land after being designated as PNP Deputy Chief for Administration by General Dionardo B. Carlos last Sunday.

The youngest member of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) ‘Makatao’ Class of 1989 in the police force, Sermonia brings with him his vast experience and accomplishments in his distinguished 36 years of service in the military and police force.

Retiring from the force on January 26, 2024, the new PNP-DCA is a three-time recipient of the Best Junior Officer of the Year, a Metrobank Foundation, Inc. 2004 Country’s Outstanding Policemen in Service (COPS) and the most coveted awards for PMA graduates, the 2004 PMA Cavalier Awards.

He is also a finalist in the Civil Service Commission’s (CSC) Dangal ng Bayan and Lingkod Awards in 2004 and 2005. He also bagged the 2013 PNP Senior Officer of the Year Award, a national semi-finalist in 2016 and 2021 for the CSC’s Presidential Lingkod Bayan Awards and the recipient of Metrobank Foundation’s Awards for Continuing Excellence in the Service (ACES) in 2019.

Also known as the Ironman General, Lt. Gen. Sermonia’s junior officer days saw him leading his team in neutralizing a number of known organized crime gangs and terror rings in the country including members of the Patinio kidnapping-for-ransom (KFR) group and the so-called CPP/NPA’s Tagaytay Five.

He and his men also neutralized two high-ranking New People’s Army (NPA) members in a gunbattle in General Trias, Cavite; six members of the dreaded Kuratong Baleleng Gang in Dasmariñas City, also in Cavite; three members of a hijacking syndicate in Laguna; four members of a car theft and robbery-holdup group operating in Quezon City and several members of a Chinese Triad involved in large-scale trafficking of shabu in the country.

Lt. Gen. Sermonia is widely respected for his relentless and unwavering dedication to the service through his continuous mentoring of uniformed and non-uniformed personnel to become better in their craft and improve their relationship with the community, which he deems necessary in the success of police work.

As a PCR strategist, Lt. Gen. Sermonia was able to bring maverick approaches in anti-criminality, anti-insurgency and anti-illegal drugs campaign by working with the community, thus, earning him the trust and confidence of different stakeholders.

During his time as PNP Director for Police-Community Relations, he untiringly and bravely fostered the relationship of the PNP with different PNP stakeholders including the youth and business sectors.

His programs led to the creation of organizations like the Joint Industrial Peace Concerns Office, the Kabataan Kontra Droga At Terorismo, the pro-environment group called Kaligtasan at Kalikasan, the Global Peace Community Relations, the Women and LGBTQ Group, the Foreign National Keepers Network, the National Coalition of Information Technology Advocates for Change as well as various Barangay-Based Organizations, Faith-Based Community, and other Non-Governmental Organizations.

Those groups were created to help not just the PNP but also to support the ‘whole-of-government’ approach ordered by President Duterte to help end the local communist armed conflict.

With this, Lt. Gen. Sermonia created the Global Coalition of Lingkod Bayan Advocacy Support Groups and Force Multipliers wherein he opened mechanisms for community partnership and alliances.

Following his assumption as the PNP’s No. 2 man, Sermonia assured the public that his office will further endeavor to uphold unity in the police organization under the stalwart leadership of Gen. Carlos and help propagate his programs in the PNP.

He also thanked President Duterte and Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo M. Año for the trust they had given him and pledged to further bridge the PNP to the Filipino people.

Apart from Lt. Gen. Sermonia, the two other members of the Command Group of Gen. Carlos are his classmates from the PMA ‘Maringal’ Class of 1988 — Lt. General Ferdinand O. Divina who is now the PNP Deputy Chief for Operations and new PNP The Chief Directorial Staff, Major Gen. Vicente D. Danao Jr. who is set to get his 3rd-star with his new position.