MEDIUM RARE
Jullie Y. Daza
What must it be like to be so wanted by senators, DILG, Napolcom, media (field reporters, editors, opinion writers), and the public in general?
The announcement that there would be “one name” on the list of DILG Secretary Ed Año came like a breath of fresh air... and yet, there was the one chance – what if the name was not PLt. Gen. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar? The people have been disappointed before, not only in the area of police, military, and civilian appointees, but disappointed big time in other ways for other reasons (such as with the appointing power, for one).
General Eleazar began his stint as PNP chief two days before Mother’s Day, on the 15th month of a nationwide lockdown, by declaring war on the bad eggs in the organization and calling on the people to help him Shield them from the coronavirus by habitually following the rules.
He looked quite spiffy, military bearing and all, in their all-white gala uniform. Facing the cameras, he laid down the law unflinchingly, talking with those eyebrows designed to stare down the Evil One.
Senate President Tito Sotto called him the “best choice,” followed by a trail of superlatives uttered by the two ex-chiefs in the Senate, Lacson and De la Rosa. The new Chief PNP is only too keenly aware of “meeting the high expectations of the Filipino people.” What do those who have followed his career, including the Tulfo brothers who cover the crime beat above and beyond the call of the deadline, know about him that they were relieved to finally see him in Camp Crame’s highest office?
Chief Eleazar has handled the roughest regions, NCR and Calabarzon (the most populous with the most opportunities for the criminal-minded), the toughest assignments (kidnapping, drugs, cybercrime), and a stint abroad with a UN unit. If he could convert the formerly notorious QC police district into an award winner, what new transformations may we expect? For starters, he vows to continue with “maayos at tapat.”
For now, the principal task is maintaining the people’s trust – not in him, as he’s already got it – but in the 200,000 cops under him.