President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has named Police Major General Benjamin Acorda Jr. as the new chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), replacing General Rodolfo Azurin Jr., who retired from service on Monday morning, April 24.

Police Major General Benjamin Acorda Jr. delivers a speech as he is named the 29th Philippine National Police (PNP) chief in Camp Crame on April 24, 2023. (RTVM Screenshot).

Acorda assumed his post during the change of command and retirement honors for Azurin at the PNP Headquarters in Camp Crame in Quezon City.

Azurin, whose retirement coincided with his 56th birthday, was the first PNP Chief of the Marcos Administration. The age of 56 is the mandatory retirement age in police service.

He has served in various capacities within the PNP for 38 years, earning multiple recognitions and distinctions throughout his productive years in the police force.

Acorda, who assumed the command as the 29th PNP chief, was the force's Director for Intelligence. He will lead the more than 220,000-strong police force.

Regarded as a 'Humble Servant' in the PNP whose family has produced a long line of public officials in Ilocos Norte, he is a member of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) 'Sambisig' Class of 1991.

A highly-decorated police officer, Acorda earned his Master's in Management from the Philippine Christian University. He is a recipient of the Bronze Cross Medal, a prestigious single-grade military decoration of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, which is awarded for "heroism involving risk of life."

His specialized training includes a Police Intelligence Officer Advance Course, a Logistics Management Course, and Training Course on Drug Law Enforcement for the Philippines.

As a Commander, Acorda headed the Balungao, Sison, Bolinao, and Sual Municipal Police Stations in Pangasinan and, later, the Palawan Police Provincial Office from 2014 to 2016. As Palawan police chief, he turned the local police force into No. 1 in operational accomplishments from being No. 5 in the Mimaropa Region.

As an Investigator, he was once chief of the Camanava Criminal Investigation and Detection Team of the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group; was a former CIDG Region 4-B chief; and headed the CIDG Anti-Fraud and Commercial Crimes Division which solved several major crimes in Metro Manila and other parts of the country.

The official was also the former chief of staff of the PNP Civil Security Group and briefly commanded the PNP Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group, created to go after rogues in police uniform.

Acorda was also one of the officials who pioneered the creation of the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group. As an officer of the unit, he was among those recognized by China and Taiwan for launching a major anti-cybercrime operation in the country, which led to the arrest of hundreds of Chinese and Taiwanese nationals involved in cybercrimes.

The official is a proud member of the United Nations Blue Helmets or police officers who have been deployed twice as members of the Philippine contingent in the UN peacekeeping operations in Haiti. He occupied a directorial position in the UN mission and supervised law enforcement officers from foreign countries like Jordan, China, Canada, Russia, Columbia, Nepal, Ghana, and the United States.