THE chief of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) is now the new regional director of the Police Regional Office in Caraga region.
Brigadier General Joselito Esquivel, Jr. replaced Brigadier General Gilberto DC Cruz for the seat during the turnover of command held in Butuan City on Monday, September 16.
The outgoing Brigadier General Cruz will be assigned to the Directorate for Integrated Police Operations-Northern Luzon based at the national headquarters in Camp BGen Rafael T. Crame, Quezon City.
During his stint, police recovered a total of 164 bricks of cocaine valued at 1.14 billion, the biggest recovery of illegal drugs in the entire country, the destruction of 15 million worth of marijuana plantation in Agusan del Sur; conduct of outreach programs in insurgency-affected areas that benefitted more than 12,000 Caraganons; topping the nationwide crime solution efficiency for three consecutive quarters; and the conduct of the PNP Caraga film festival, the first ever film fest nationwide that raised awareness among the youth to the evils of terrorism and now being shown nationwide.
“Thank you for doing your respective roles and tasks beyond the ordinary policing works, for the memories that we shared together during the conduct of activities and programs; and for your efforts that made us as one strong police force,” BGen Cruz said.
Meanwhile, the new Caraga top cop vows to make significant strides in the conduct of police operations, internal cleansing campaign, crime prevention, and crime solving efforts in the region.
Esquivel, Jr., a member of the Philippine Military Academy Class of 1988, is the 18th PNP Regional Director of Caraga.