FILE PHOTO – DILG officer-in-charge Gen. Eduardo Año. Photo by Noy Morcoso/INQUIRER.net
Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) officer in charge Eduardo Año on Saturday called on cadets of the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) to be firm and virtuous, and to live up to the example a heroism of the “SAF 44,” the group of Special Action Force (SAF) commandos who perished three years ago in a firefight with Moro guerrillas while arresting a suspected terrorist.
Speaking at the testimonial parade and honors during his visit to PNPA at Camp Castañeda, Silang, Cavite, Año cited five
PNPA upperclassmen who were members of SAF 44 and who gave up their lives in the service of the people, namely, Senior Inspectors Ryan Pabalinas, Class of 2006; John Garry Erana and Max Jim Tria, Class of 2009; Cyrus Anniban, Class of 2010; and Rennie Tayrus, Class of 2011.
Sacrifices
“Who would forget the sacrifices of our SAF 44 heroes? Against all odds, and up to their last breath, they stood true to the lofty ideals of leadership and heroism,” Año said in his speech.
He said that as future public safety leaders, the PNPA cadets “have to internalize every lesson that each day and experience has to offer to prepare them well for the rigorous world of malice and temptation which has already become the new norm in their line of work.”
Be firm
“Strive to be firm and stand by the virtues you have been inculcated here in the halls of PNPA. Wear your uniforms and badges with honor, integrity and excellence,” he said.
Año also urged the cadets to study well and master the arts and sciences of leadership and to always go back to the Honor Code if they would be faced in the future with the dilemma of choosing between what is right and what is popular.
The DILG officer in charge assured the PNPA of his support to the institution through the Philippine Public Safety College (PPSC) headed by Director General Ricardo F. de Leon.
In addition to the SAF 44 heroes, Año also talked about two more PNPA upperclassmen who gave up their lives in the performance of their avowed duties.
Medal of Valor awardee
He cited Supt. Ranie Hachuela, Class of 1997, a Medal of Valor awardee, who led a small group of policemen in a nine-hour gun battle against the numerically superior Moro rebels in Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte, in May 2003.
Año also mentioned Supt. Arthur Masongsong, also of Class 1997, who was killed in
Bulacan in December last year while leading police rescue operation for a kidnap victim.
New breed of officers
The DILG chief said he hoped the PNPA would continue churning out a “new breed of public safety officers in the 21st century,” considering that the academy already has International Organization for Standardization accreditation and is now at par with service academies in Southeast Asia in terms of campus accommodations and its learning packages.
The PNPA is directly managed by the PPSC, one of the attached agencies of the DILG.