Eleazar takes over PNP leadership today

Not a few have said that his appointment as Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief had been long in coming. As far back as three PNP heads before him, Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar had been touted to be the most fit and ripe to become the leader of the country’s 220,000-strong police force until President Duterte confirmed that expectation with the announcement of his appointment as the PNP’s 24th Chief.

Before his appointment to the top PNP post, Eleazar, who comes from Tagkawayan, Quezon, was deputy chief for administration – the second highest position in the organization.

He was also the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) director. NCRPO got its first Best Police Regional Office award under his command. In fact, the crime rate in Metro Manila went down by a record 62 percent compared to the last 39 months before he assumed his post.

Before that, he was regional director of the Calabarzon police, and director of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD), and head of the PNP’s AntiCybercrime Group. At the QCPD, he coined the now-popular tag “Proud to be QCPD.”