President Duterte has ordered Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Guillermo Lorenzo T. Eleazar to ensure that all policemen would always do what is right and legal in the conduct of law enforcement operations and in maintaining peace and order in the country.
Eleazar said the President's instruction was given to him after the donning of his four star rank which occurred at the Malacanan Palace on Monday night, May 17.
"Our Commander-In-Chief told me: 'My only marching order to you is to what is right and legal.' It is as simple as that," said Eleazar in his speech during the Arrival Honors and Reception ceremony for his promotion to four-star rank at Camp Crame on Tuesday, May 18.
Eleazar is known for being strict as part of the disciplinary measures in the PNP. On Sunday, he conducted surprise inspections on three police stations in Metro Manila, and scolded a Police Community Precinct commander after seeing that the front yard of the station was untidy.
He also vowed to aggressively implement internal cleansing under his Intensified Cleanliness Policy which would initiate a QR Code System in recruitment system to ensure that no police applicants would be favored or would enter the police organization through influential backers.
In his speech, Eleazar also reminded all policemen to look into policing in the eyes of children before who would look up to policemen in uniform.
"When you ask children why they want to be a policeman. They would always tell you that they want to be a policeman to help and to catch bad guys. This is what we should do in order to further win back the hearts and mind of the people we serve," said Eleazar in Filipino.
Eleazar is the 6th PNP Chief appointed by Duterte, with observers saying that he was appointed on the basis of merits and accomplishments as he had no influential backers and that he did not come from Davao.