New PNP chief gets heaps of praise

Senators on Tuesday hailed President Aquino’s decision to name a permanent chief of the Philippine National Police and welcomed Director Ricardo Marquez’s appointment.

Sen. Grace Poe said she was glad about the appointment of a permanent PNP chief as this would provide the needed direction and leadership in the police organization.

“I don’t know Director Marquez, but he needs support and prayers so he can succeed in serving as head (of the PNP),” Poe said.

Also welcoming Marquez’s appointment was former Sen. Panfilo Lacson, who served as PNP chief during the term of President Joseph Estrada.

In a text message, Lacson said Marquez was his intelligence officer when he was then police director of Laguna province in 1992.

“I’ve always known him to be a professional officer. He is competent and I am confident that he can handle the PNP very well,” Lacson said.

In the Ilocos, Marquez’s fellow officers described him as hardworking and the right man for the job.

Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he personally knows the new PNP chief as the latter had served as regional director in the Ilocos region.

“I am confident that he has the ability and experience to lead the PNP and that he will discharge his duty to the best of his ability,” Marcos said of Marquez.

Supt. Rollie Saltat, officer in charge of the Pangasinan police, said Marquez was strict and introduced innovations—like the “Patrol 101” project—in the region.

Saltat said Patrol 101 requires all town and city policemen, including station chiefs and desk-bound officers, to patrol their areas to minimize crime incidents.

Chief Supt. Roman Felix, Ilocos regional police director, said he hoped Marquez would live up to the expectations of the people.

La Union Rep. Victor Ortega said Marquez’s appointment did not surprise him because some officers who served in the region had been promoted to lead the PNP in various positions.

In Central Luzon, Chief Supt. Ronald Santos, regional police director, said Marquez was the right choice to lead the organization.

“He has the ability, expertise, skills and leadership,” Santos said.

When Marquez was director of the Nueva Ecija police from 2008 to 2010, the command was cited as a model provincial police office because of its anticriminality campaign.

Santos said Marquez’s strength was police intelligence work and operations. He said the Nueva Ecija police, under Marquez, worked to ensure that the 2010 elections in the province, traditionally an election hot spot, were peaceful.–Reports from Christine O. Avendaño in Manila; Tonette Orejas, Inquirer Central Luzon; and Yolanda Sotelo and Cristina Arzadon, Inquirer Northern Luzon