Camp Crame, Quezon City
28 June 2016
In honor of outgoing Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Police Director General Ricardo C. Marquez, President Benigno S. Aquino III led the retirement and testimonial parade held at Camp Crame in Quezon City.
Among the awards conferred by the President to General Marquez are the Medalya ng Katapatan sa Paglilingkod, Medalya ng Pambihirang Paglilingkod, Gallery of Awards, Command Saber and the Philippine Legion of Honor (PLOH) with the rank of Commander.
Likewise, the Personal Flag, the PNP Flag, and the Philippine National Flag were handed over to General Marquez by President Aquino, Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Mel Senen Sarmiento, and SPO4 Juanito P. Dimaculangan, Command Executive Senior Police Officer (CESPO) of PNP, as part of the retirement ceremony.
In his speech, the President commended General Marquez for the increased crime solution efficiency of the PNP and mentioned the 3,732 most wanted persons and 13 key personalities of the Communist Party of the Philippines/New People’s Army/National Democratic Front (CPP/NPA/NDF), and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) who were arrested during General Marquez’s term through the Internal Security Operations of the PNP. Meanwhile, with the extended Oplan Lambat Sibat, the crime rate in the National Capital Region (NCR) was reduced.
President Aquino also took the opportunity to thank the hardworking men and women of the PNP before he ends his term as Chief Executive and Commander-in-Chief.
“Sa magigiting nating kapulisan, nais kong iparating sa inyo ang aking paghanga at taos-pusong pasasalamat. Hindi natin mararating ang kabanatang ito ng ating kasaysayan – ang punto kung kailan higit na tayong nakakapaglingkod sa Pilipino at tinitingala na tayo ng mundo sa pagbabagong ating tinatamasa – kung wala ang inyong tiwala at pakikiambag. Sa inyong lahat na tapat, buong tapang at buong buhay na naglilingkod sa ating mga boss, sa taumbayan, maraming, maraming salamat,” the President said.
General Marquez is the 20th chief of the PNP. He was appointed on July 14, 2015 by former DILG Secretary Manuel Roxas. Prior to becoming police chief, he served as head of PNP’s Directorate for Operations (DO) and Commander of the Joint Task Force Papal Visit during the State Visit of His Holiness Pope Francis to the Philippines in January 2015, where he was awarded the Pope Francis Service Medal.
During his leadership, he successfully led the police force in various international events hosted by the Philippines, such as the 23rd World Economic Forum on East Asia (WEF-EA) in May 2014, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Meeting in November 2015 and the International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) in January this year.
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