BY VICTOR REYES
PNP CHIEF Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr yesterday sought to justify his recent decision to reassign the second and third highest police officials to lower positions in a massive revamp in the PNP.

Azurin said the designation of Lt. Gen. Rhodel Sermonia and Lt. Gen. Vicente Danao as area police commanders will give them the opportunity to “shine” in the field.
Sermonia, the former PNP No. 2 man as PNP deputy chief for administration, was designated commander of the Area Police Command-Visayas in the revamp that affected at least 80 senior officials.
Danao was named commander of the Area Police Command-Western Visayas. He was the PNP’s No. 3 man as PNP deputy chief for operations and even served as PNP officer-in-charge for three months until Azurin assumed the top PNP post on August 3.
With their reassignment, Sermonia and Danao are no longer members of the PNP command group which is involved in making key decisions for the entire police force. Sermonia and Danao will also no longer head the PNP Administrative Support to COVID-19 Task Force and Joint Task Force COVID Shield, respectively, because of the new assignments.
Lt. Gen. Jose Chiquito Malayo and Maj. Gen. Benjamin Santos Jr were named the new PNP deputy chief for administration and PNP deputy chief for operations, respectively. They will also take over the task forces used to be headed by Sermonia and Danao.
Azurin, recalling his remarks during his inaugural speech, said the PNP needs to adopt a flexible policy that is “best for the organization.”
“The only thing I have in mind when I did that was for Vic (Danao) and Rhodel to have regions that they are going to supervise, where they can also shine in their own respective fields considering that they are very competent in their own respective expertise,” said Azurin.
“That’s our purpose, why I gave them commands to supervise, three regions each,” said Azurin.
EXPERTISE
Azurin said Sermonia is good in “organizing and mobilizing the community,” which he said are skills needed in the fight against communist insurgency in the Visayas.
“We need somebody there to organize and bring awareness to all different barangays in the Visayas region to address our problem on insurgency. That’s the reason why I requested him to move there,” he said.
On Danao, Azurin said he is needed in Western Mindanao for the full implementation of the Bangsamoro Organic Law which was passed after the government signed a peace agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in 2014.
“We need their competency and expertise there (in Visayas and Western Mindanao),” said Azurin of Sermonia and Danao.
Azurin said Sermonia and Danao will merely be “representing me in the meetings that I cannot attend” if they will remain as the PNP deputy chiefs for administration and operations.
“The opportunity (for them to shine as area police commanders) will be lost. Their expertise in the respective fields, where they were molded for the last 30 years, will be lost,” said Azurin.
Azurin said this is not the first time that a No. 2 man of the PNP was reassigned to lower position.
Told that the re-assignment of third-level officials (major generals) in the revamp violates a memorandum issued by the National Police Commission (Napolcom) in 2009, Azurin the PNP will seek a dialogue with the commission.
The memorandum says the PNP Directorate for Personnel and Records Management should first cause the publication of vacant and soon-to-be vacant positions for third-level officials, along with the officers eligible for the posts.
“That we have to iron out our differences with the Napolcom and I respect that particular Napolcom memorandum circular,” said Azurin.
Azurin said there were instances in the past when officers were reassigned, without full compliance with the memorandum.
“Now, Napolcom is telling us to go back to the policy. We have to talk how can we best deliver the intention of Napolcom and intention of the PNP so as not to delay what the PNP organization wants,” he said.