MANILA, Philippine – President Rodrigo Duterte is having difficulty choosing the next Philippine National Police chief but a source who admitted anonymity and very close to the chief executive confided to this writer Tuesday, 29 October 2019, former National Capital Region Office Chief Guillermo Eleazar could be it.

As previously reported, the choice of the chief executive for the top PNP post has narrowed to three.

Namely, these are current officer-in-charge and Deputy Chief for Administration Lt. Gen. Archie Francisco Gamboa, number three man in Deputy Chief for Operations Lt. Gen. Camilo Pancratius Cascolan, and finally, Maj. Gen. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar, who is tagged as No. 4 man on the PNP hierarchy being the Chief of the Directorial Staff.

The source, who requested anonymity, said Eleazar is the “appropriate guy” President Duterte is looking for because of his impressive track record at his former post at the National Capital Region Office (NRCPO).

Eleazar also perfectly meets the “honesty” factor Malacanang highy considers the same source said as the former NCRPO chief has never been involved in any controversy aside from being a known officer and man of action.

For one, before getting shoved up Chief of Directorial Staff, Eleazar makes it a point to always do surprise rounds among NCR police stations.

And more often than not, he catches erring members of the police right there napping or are inattentive to duty.

He has also fired police scalawags on the spot and filed administrative cases to hundreds of errant members of the police force.

With his strong-arm style of policing the police force and media-heavy performance, Eleazar easily got noticed by the President himself.

“Tell him (Eleazar) I’ve got his back,” President Duterte was quoted as saying by media then and that statement stuck, enough to make him a standout dark horse for the top PNP post.

That brand or style of being strict first worked for resigned PNP chief Gen. Oscar Albayalde as he was eventually appointed to that post.

The source said “history might repeat itself.”

Although he was never assigned in Davao, Eleazar, who belongs to the PMA Hinirang Class of 1987, holds the distinction as the only one among the candidates who has been publicly praised by President Duterte.

However, some quarters suggest not to discount as yet the possibility of Lt. Gen. Gamboa getting it and so with Lt. Gen. Cascolan.

The two are known as the “Davao boys” but with dissimilar credentials.

Accordingly, Gamboa’s strongest point is his acumen in running the office while Cascolan takes pride on his savvy on the field. (Ismael Amigo/CNS)