THEY literally have some big shoes to fill in. I’m referring to two generals from PNP Academy who were designated as Police Regional Office directors this week on orders of DILG chief, Secretary Benhur Abalos bringing to eight the number of ‘Lakans’ who are now RDs in the 226,000-strong police force.

I’m referring to Brigadier General Jerry Bearis of PNPA Class 1993, the new Police Regional Office 7 director in Central Visayas and Brig. Gen. Percival Rumbaoa of PNPA Class 1992, the new PRO2 director in Cagayan Valley.

These two fine officers and gentlemen really have an enormous job to complete since the officials they replaced really did well. I’m talking about the good job made by my friends, now newly-retired Brig. Gen. Steve Ludan at the PRO2 and Brig. Gen. Roderick Alba at the PRO7.

Bearis, the erstwhile Deputy Regional Director for Administration of the PRO3 in Central Luzon replaced his direct upperclassman, Brig. Gen. Alba who was transferred as PNP Deputy Director for Human Resource and Doctrine Development after a 2-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 PRO2 director vice Ludan, a long-time friend from Philippine Military Academy ‘Tanglaw-Diwa’ Class of 1992.

Alba replaced Brig. Gen. Alex Tagum of PNPA Class 1991 who returned to the PRO11 not as its RD anew but this time as the incoming head of the newly-formed Davao Metropolitan District Command which has been strengthened to secure Davao City and its nearby areas.

Brig. Gen. Rumbaoa became the new PRO2 director with the retirement of Brig. Gen. Ludan who became the Cagayan Valley police director on July 19, 2021 and retired on Tuesday, his 56th birthday after more than 34 years of outstanding service in the military and the police force.

PNP chief, General Jun Azurin commended Ludan for steering the Cagayan Valley police force to greater heights since he became the PRO2 director in July 2021. As PRO2 chief for 17 months, 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.

Brig. Gen. Rumbaoa is not new to the PRO2 since he used to be a Santiago City Police Office chief in 2018, I learned. He also used to be a Deputy Regional Director for Administration of the PNP Aviation Security Group.

As the new PRO2 director, Rumbaoa will be supervising the enforcement of all laws to keep peace and order in the provinces of Batanes, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Viscaya and Quirino in order to make them more ideal places to live, work and do business. The region is also host to the chartered cities of Cauayan, Ilagan, Santiago and Tuguegarao.

His entry into the PRO2 comes in the wake of a Comelec decision to disqualify Cagayan Governor Manuel Mamba for violating the public spending ban in the May elections.

However, I expect the PRO2 to have no trouble enforcing the law and keeping Cagayan trouble-free amid the Comelec decision.

On the other hand, Brig. Gen. Bearis who used to be an Eastern Police District director will be commanding the PRO7 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’ operations following orders from Sec. Abalos. I expect Bearis to display the same passion and dedication displayed by Alba in his brief stint as PRO7 chief.

Under Brig. Gen. 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 it commendation from Gen. Azurin who cited the consistency displayed by the PRO7 both operationally and administratively leading to a 5.24 percent overall crime reduction in the region.

The PRO7 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. Ely Cruz.

The PRO7 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 PRO7’s high Crime Clearance Efficiency and Crime Solution Efficiency reflected the efficiency and competency of the ‘Bisdak Cops’ of Central Visayas when it comes to keeping the peace and order situation in the region manageable.

The PRO7 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 went down by 9.84 percent where Index Crimes, known as crimes of serious nature, decreased by 385 cases. The PRO7 also noted 1,926 less non-index crimes during the period.

The PRO7’s intensified campaign against illegal drugs under Brig. Gen. 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 PRO7 agents so far this year led in 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.

I know Alba as an officer and a gentleman who will perform well in any assignment. Let’s give it to the man who did very well in his short stint as RD.

Merry Christmas to all.