The Philippine National Police (PNP) implemented a shuffle within the organization on Monday, Jan. 9, which saw the head of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and an executive of the Directorate for Intelligence exchange positions.

PNP Chief, Police Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. designated Brig. Gen. Romeo Caramat, the deputy director of the Directorate for Intelligence, as the new chief of the CIDG.

Caramat replaced Brig. Gen. Ronald Lee, who will then take the post vacated by the former.

“Let’s just say that this is a regular movement with some minor problems. We still try to work despite the minor problems that we are facing insofar as the CIDG is concerned,” Azurin said but without further elaborating.

According to the PNP chief, the designation of Caramat as the CIDG chief has been long overdue.

He said that Caramat was the first choice to head the CIDG but the general had to attend to some family problems. It was then that Azurin picked Lee to lead the CIDG in August 2022.

“We are just preparing for him to be ready so we tend to recommend Ronald Lee to remain as the CIDG director until General Caramat is ready. Unfortunately, on the day that the order will be issued to General Caramat, an unfortunate incident happened to the wife of Gen. Caramat,” he added.

The general’s wife – Calasiao, Pangasinan Mayor Mamilyn Caramat – died on Sunday, Jan. 8 due to hypertension.

Amid the change in leadership at the CIDG, Azurin acknowledged the existence of a manifesto signed by some generals who supported Lee’s leadership in the CIDG.

Under Lee’s leadership, the CIDG accomplished a number of milestones in its efforts to keep the peace and order in the country. The unit conducted a total of 8,621 manhunt operations against wanted personalities; 1,582 operations against loose firearms; nine operations against illegal recruiters and traffickers that resulted in the arrest of 15 individuals and filing of four court cases. There were also 183 operations against violation of intellectual property rights, smuggling, manufacturing, distribution, and trading of counterfeit products which yielded 639 arrests.

The CIDG also helped families and victims of missing "sabungeros" or cockfighters. Although some of the victims remain missing, a court favored the CIDG to indict suspects in the robbery and kdinapping cases in San Pablo, Laguna and Manila which involved police officers and security guards as suspects.

“Anyway, I talked to Ronald the other day and I told him we will try to line up the next transition because there are some officers who will retire in March. We hope that he will be given another two-star position so he can be promoted,” the PNP chief said.

“Ronald is a very good officer. He is very professional but sometimes, we need to move and we need to be professional. Whatever the higher ups say, we only follow,” he concluded.