Albayalde gets distinguished service medal; Marawi cops awarded
Interior Secretary Eduardo Año confers to PNP chief Police Gen. Oscar Albayalde the PNP Distinguished Service Medal on June 10, 2019. PHOTO from PNP PIO
MANILA, Philippines — Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Police Gen. Oscar Albayalde received on Monday the PNP Distinguished Service Medal from Interior Secretary Eduardo Año for his “invaluable service” as the overall commander of the security task force for the midterm elections.
In the same awarding ceremony at Camp Crame, 10 police officers who fought against the ISIS-inspired Maute group during the Marawi siege in 2017 were also awarded the PNP Distinguished Conduct Medal.
“For me, this is not only my personal gain but also for the 195,000-strong force of the PNP that is always geared up to protect and serve the Filipino people with a high sense of professionalism,” Albayalde said in a statement.
Among the recipients of the PNP Distinguished Conduct Medal was Police Brig. Gen. Rolando Anduyan, director of the Northern Police District in Metro Manila.
Anduyan was the overall commander of the joint task group PNP and deputy regional director for operations of the Police Regional Office in Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (PRO-ARMM) during the five-month-long battle in Marawi.
Other recipients of the medal were Col. Danilo Bacas who was Assistant Commander of Joint Task Group PNP and head of the Regional Intelligence Division of PRO-ARMM; Col. Rex Arvin Malimban, Combat Group Commander of PNP Special Action Force (SAF); Lt. Col. Lambert Suerte, Battalion Commander of the SAF Rapid Deployment Battalion of; Lt. Col. Ledon Monte, Battalion Commander of the SAF 5th Special Action Battalion; Lt. Col. Mario Mayames, Battalion Commander of the SAF 2nd Special Action Battalion; Lt. Col. Jack Angog, Battalion Commander of SAF 1st Special Action Battalion; Lt. Col. Filmore Abdulsalam Calib, Officer-in-Charge Force Commander of PRO-ARMM’s Regional Mobile Force Battalion; Lt. Col. Sonnie Bumatang Omengan, team leader of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal/K9 (EOD/K9) group; and Major Gayamos Lapangan Jr., Assistant Team Leader of the EOD/K9 group.
Albayalde said the awards for the police officers were in addition to the award given to other PNP personnel for fighting the terror attack in the Islamic city. (Editor: Eden Estopace)
