PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has appointed Lt. Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. as the new chief of the Philippine National Police, Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said on Monday.
A graduate of Philippine Military Academy (‘Makatao’ Class of 1989), Azurin is currently the commander of the Northern Luzon Police Area composed of the regions of Ilocos (Region 1), Cagayan Valley (Region 2), Central Luzon (Region 3) and the Cordillera Administrative Region.
Azurin was also the former commander of the Southern Luzon Police Area which include the regions of Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) – Region 4-A; Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan) – Region 4-B and Bicol (Region 5).
Azurin is a well-rounded police officer, having served the PNP in various capacities, both in police operations and administrative work.
He held star-rank positions in Camp Crame as director of the Directorate for Comptrollership (DC) as well as the Directorate for Information and Communication Technology Management (DICTM).
As a newly-promoted police general, Azurin as served director of the Maritime Group and later as as the regional director of Police Regional Office 1 in Ilocos.
In a statement from the PNP, “Under PLtGen Azurin’s direction, we assure the public that our police force will sustain its momentum to carry out PNP’s mission and to deliver its mandate with utmost integrity, credibility and professionalism, all for safety and protection of our Filipino people,” PNP public information office chief, Brig. Gen. Roderick Augustus Alba said.
Bacarro as AFP chief of staff
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has chosen Lt. Gen. Bartolome Vicente Bacarro, commander of the Armed Forces the Philippines – Southern Luzon Command as new AFP chief of staff, Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles announced on Monday.
“The change of command for the new AFP chief of staff will be on August 8. This will give time for Gen. Bacarro to wind down at the SOLCOM and provide him with the transition to his new position in Camp Aguinaldo,” Cruz-Angeles said.
A graduate of the Philippine Military Academy, Bacarro was born on Sept. 18, 1966 in San Fernando, La Union. He graduated in the upper quartile of PMA “Maringal” Class of 1988.
Angeles said outgoing CS-AFP Gen. Andres Centino, a classmate of Bacarro in PMA, is slated for a new post befitting a former chief of staff.
Republic Act 11709, signed by President Duterte on April 13 this year sets a fixed three-year tour of duty for the AFP chief of staff, vice chief of staff, the deputy chief of staff, the major service commanders (Philippine Army, Philippine Air Force, Philippine Navy), unified command commanders, and inspector general “unless sooner terminated by the President.”
“Based on RA 11709, Gen. Bacarro will be the first CSAFP to be given a fixed three-year term,” Angeles said.
Shortly after graduation, Bacarro was assigned with the 5th Infantry Division in Isabela province at the height of the counter-insurgency campaign in the Cagayan Valley from June 1988 until 1995.
