Ex-Malacañang undersecretary appointed as new Napolcom commissioner

President Benigno Aquino III appointed former Malacañang Undersecretary Felizardo Serapio Jr. as the new commissioner of the National Police Commission (Napolcom), overseer of the 160,000-strong police force, until 2022.

Serapio, a retired police director who once headed the elite police unit Special Action Force (SAF), will represent the law enforcement sector at the Napolcom, the agency said on Tuesday.

Both Aquino and Interior Secretary Mel Senen Sarmiento signed Serapio’s appointment order last February 11. He will replace former Commissioner Luisito Palmera whose term ended on January 7.

Before his appointment at Napolcom, Serapio was the undersecretary and head of the Law Enforcement and Security Integration Office under the Office of the Executive Secretary in Malacañang. He was also the Executive Director of the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime.

Serapio retired from police service in 2010 and held key positions in the organization, including Directorate for Integrated Police Operations Western Mindanao, SOCCSKSARGEN Regional Office director and SAF.

Serapio also served as head of the Interpol National Central Bureau Secretariat, officer-in-charge of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Senior Official on Transnational Crime-Philippines, and head of the working group on Trafficking in Persons, and Asean Senior Official on Transnational Crime.

Napolcom Vice Chairman Eduardo Escueta said Serapio was known in the (Philippine National Police) PNP as “a crisis manager” and the “Father of Police Intervention Training” as he was among the few who introduced it in the PNP.

“The Napolcom welcomes the well-deserved appointment of Commissioner Serapio. His vast experience in law enforcement and participation as resource person in international law enforcement integration and cooperation will definitely be an asset to the Commission,” Escueta said.

Napolcom is currently headed by Sarmiento with Escueta, Serapio with fellow Commissioners Alejandro Urro and Constancia De Guzman as regular members and PNP chief Director General Ricardo Marquez as ex-officio commissioner. RAM

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