PNP communicators easily rise through the ranks

Senior Superintendent Bartolome Tobias turns over post as PNP spokesperson to Chief Superintendent Wilfredo Franco. JULLIANE LOVE DE JESUS

WHY does the Philippine National Police keep on changing spokespersons?

The newly appointed mouthpiece of the 150,000-strong organization, Chief Superintendent Wilfredo Franco, has an answer.

“That only means one thing. Anyone who gets assigned to PIO (Public Information Office) is very competent. They are always considered for promotion,” Franco told reporters on Monday when asked to explain the high turnover rate of PNP spokespersons.

“If you look at the history of the PIO, Representative Leopoldo Bataoil was a former PIO chief, then he became the head of Directorate for Police Community Relations (DPCR), now he’s a congressman. Officials who are really good in communicating with the public are those who easily rise through the ranks,” he explained.

Since 2014, the longest time in office of a PNP spokesperson was four months during the leadership of Senior Superintendent Wilben Mayor. After Mayor, succeeding PIO chiefs only lasted less than 3 months in the position.

Since Mayor left PIO, there had been three spokespersons who took office in less than six months, including Chief Superintendent Generoso Cerbo Jr., Senior Superintendent Bartolome Tobias and Franco.

“The movement in the leadership is just within the regular process of our organization. It’s part of the dynamics,” he said.

Barely two months after being named as spokesperson, Tobias turned over the post to Franco before the media in Camp Crame. Tobias will be transferred to the PNP Liaison Office as the Senior Police Assistant to Interior Secretary Mar Roxas.

However, Franco will only act as a “caretaker” of the PIO “who will take control of the situation” while waiting for the designation of permanent chief. Before he was tapped to lead the PIO, Franco was the acting director of DPCR while waiting for his promotion to Police Director (two-star general).

Former spokesperson Mayor could return to PIO as its permanent chief. “He (Mayor) would take over immediately as PIO chief upon his return. That’s the instruction from the higher ups,” he said.

But when asked if Mayor could be permanently appointed to the position, Franco said: “We would hope for that. The orders are still to come out as he is expected to take over in a more permanent capacity.”

Mayor was PNP spokesperson from September last year until January but was relieved when he was reassigned as the deputy chief of the Directorate for Intelligence.

He will report back to duty on the third week of June after being on leave since May. With Sheen Limbo, INQUIRER.net trainee/AC