MANILA, Philippines — The country’s task force leading the law enforcement efforts during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has a new commander.
Lt. Gen. Cesar Hawthorne Binag, deputy chief for operations of the Philippine National Police (PNP), will now take over as commander of the Joint Task Force COVID Shield, its former chief and PNP deputy chief for administration Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar announced on Sunday.
“Effective Nov 17, I was designated Comdr (commander) of the PNP Admin Support to Covid Opns Task Force (ASCOTF),” Eleazar said in a Viber message to reporters, as he thanked concerned government agencies for cooperating with the JTF in enforcing quarantine protocols.
“Please extend the same support to my mistah (batchmate), TDCO PLtGen Cesar Hawthorne Binag, as the new Comdr, JTF COVID Shield,” he added.
Eleazar and Binag sit as the second and third highest police officials, respectively, under the hierarchy of leadership in the PNP.
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