Political ties will not affect President Benigno Aquino III’s choice for the next Philippine National Police chief, a Palace official assured on Friday.
In a press briefing, presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte assured the public that Mr. Aquino will choose his next PNP chief based his track records and not through his political affiliations.
“I can assure you that whenever the President interviews or is in search of candidates for a particular position, what he has in mind is the qualifications of any candidate as well as the demands of the office that is supposed to be filled,” Valte told the reporters in a press briefing at the Palace.
“Various sectors will always have their own choices or at least will appeal to the President appoint this person [or] appoint this person, but the President always considers, again, first, the competencies of the person; and second, the demands of the position,” she added.
On Monday, Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas revealed on Monday that Mr. Aquino has already started the vetting process for the next PNP chief, interviewing top two contenders holding the most senior three-star rank – Deputy Director Leonardo General Espina and Deputy Director General Marcelo Garbo Jr.
Valte’s statement came after the opposition United Nationalist Alliance alleged that the Aquino administration and the ruling Liberal Party are perpetuating the “bata-bata” or the patronage system in the selection process of the next PNP chief.
“There are indications that the LP would repeat what it had done in the 2013 elections, wherein it promoted its personal favorites in the PNP,” UNA interim president Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco said in a statement on Thursday.
“They will start this by maneuvering the appointment of Gen. Garbo as PNP chief,” he added.
Garbo reportedly earned the favor of Mr. Aquino for his handling of the controversial suspension of Cebu Gov. Gwen Garcia during his term as regional director of Central Visayas.
Aside from his stint in Central Visayas, he was also the National Capital Region police director in July 2013 and chief of the PNP directorial staff in December 2013.
Espina is the acting head of the PNP, taking over from suspended and later resigned Director General Alan Purisima. Mr. Aquino has been looking for a permanent replacement for Purisima, who resigned last month after his
alleged involvement, despite his six-month suspension, in the commando operation that resulted the deaths of 44 Special Action Force members during a clash with hundreds of Muslim guerillas from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters in Mamasapano, Maguindanao last Jan. 25.
Valte said Mr. Aquino is aware that Purisima only resigned as chief of the
PNP but not from the police service and that this point is now being studied by the presidential legal team.
“He retains the rank of four-star [general] and there can only be one four-star general at any given time in the PNP. That’s why that particular issue is also being studied by the President’s legal team,” she added.
Purisima, Espina and Garbo are all members of the Philippine Military Academy’s Class of 1981.
Purisima is set to retire in November. Espina will retire in July, while Garbo will be retiring in March 2016.
There are at least five other members of the PMA Class 81 in the PNP who are also set to retire in the coming months.