President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos, Jr. place the four-star rank on Police General Rommel Francisco Marbil following his appointment as the 30th Chief of the Philippine National Police during a ceremony at Camp Crame in Quezon City on Monday, April 1, 2024. (Noel B. Pabalate)
The boy from Manila is now the Chief of the 232,000-strong Philippine National Police (PNP).
Born on February 7, 1969, Rommel Francisco Dayleg Marbil is a member of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class of 1991, making him the successor of his classmate during the turnover of command ceremony and retirement honors for now retired general Benjamin Acorda, Jr., on Monday, April 1.
Before he was chosen as President Marcos’ third Chief PNP, Marbil was the director of the Directorate for Comptrollership which is in charge of the financial management of the police organization.
He also served as regional director of the Police Regional Office 8 and the director of the Highway Patrol Group (HPG), He once served as the chief of police of Bacoor in Cavite, and the provincial director of Agusan del Norte.
Marbil was also among the contingent of the Philippine peacekeeping force in Liberia before he served as the commander of the Presidential Protection Force.
The new Chief PNP has a master’s degree in Public Administration at the Ateneo de Manila University.
Surprise!
It was an appointment that surprised even most of the officers of the police organization since a day before Acorda’s retirement ceremony, Malacañang confirmed that Police Lt. Gen. Emmanuel Peralta was designated as the PNP’s officer-in-charge.
Peralta, also a member of the PMA Class 1991, was thought to serve as OIC PNP until his retirement in August this year.
It was during the Monday ceremony at Camp Crame in Quezon City that the public was made aware that Marcos picked Marbil as the 30th Chief PNP.
Social media as a tool for policing
In his assumption speech, Marbil emphasized the need for the existing and future members of the PNP to enhance the power of social media and technology as effective tools for efficient law enforcement.
“We shall place utmost importance on police community engagement working together in reducing crime through education, community partnership and policing and the use of emerging technology and social media,” said Marbil.
In fact, the advancement of technology for law enforcement is one of the six main focus agenda that Marbil wants to concentrate on for his entire tour of duty.
He explained that the power of information technology is already a must, especially in terms of winning the hearts and minds of the Filipino people whom the PNP has been pushing to be an active partner in maintaining peace and order in every community.
“To begin, we shall prioritize integrating the PNP secured mobile artificial intelligence driven in real time smart policing program and ICT development roadmap in our operations, including an active drive to recruit and train a new generation of police officers and support staff with technical expertise and specialized IT skills,” said Marbil.
These skills, he explained in his speech, are important in increasing the level of trust that the Filipino people have for their protectors as he vowed to make the increased community satisfaction in PNP work as a key benchmark of its progress.
With the Philippines ranked as the second country in the world with active social media users and Filipino netizens expected to increase to 95 million in the next five years, Marbil’s ICT push actually makes sense.
Besides, Marcos himself has repeatedly declared the importance of investment on digitalization in bringing efficient government services to the people.
“As the 30th Chief of the PNP, it is my intention to build on the strides made so far to ensure that there is both continuity and improvement that the PNP remains effective on its job while evolving to become a modern Filipino police force for a modern Filipino society,” said Marbil.
Critical thinkers, problem solvers
In his goal of maximizing PNP manpower to win the trust and confidence of the Filipino people, Marbil emphasized the need to develop, improve and refine the skills of every member of the police force,.
“More than ever, we need officers possessed with critical thinking and problem solving skills to address the many unique situations that arise and in particular to become catalysts for the changes we need in the organization,” said Marbil.
“To become better and more efficient in what we do. We need officers who can communicate with the public well, display empathy and conduct themselves at all times responsibly, ethically and morally,” he added.
These qualities, he said, are important in nurturing what he describes as a human approach to law enforcement.