Lt. Gen. Rhodel Sermonia has been named Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the Office of the Deputy Chief for Administration, the Philippine National Police’s (PNP) second highest post, in place of Lt. Gen. Jose Chiquito Malayo who reached the mandatory retirement age of 56 on Sunday.
Sermonia was named Deputy Chief for Administration in March under then chief PNP Gen. Dionardo Carlos.
PNP chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. implemented a major reshuffle a few days into his appointment in August, making Sermonia the chief APC in the Visayas.
“Sermonia, chief of the Area Police Command (APC) in the Visayas and in addition to his duties and responsibilities, is designated as OIC of the Office of the Deputy Chief of PNP for Administration effective on Sunday (October 2). Such designation shall only take effect until the designation of the new TDCA (The Deputy Chief for Administration),” the order dated September 30 said.
In a message sent to the Philippine News Agency, Azurin said he recommended three names to the National Police Commission for “evaluation, assessment and hopefully, endorsement of our President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for official appointment as TDCA.
In a previous press briefing, Azurin said Sermonia is a “good advocate in organizing and mobilizing the community.”
“We need somebody there to organize and bring awareness to all the different barangays in the Visayas region na pagtulong-tulongan itong problema natin sa (to help counter the problem of) insurgency,” he said after Sermonia slid to the APC-Visayas.
