Police Major General Robert Rodriguez, an Ilonggo assumed the Area Police Command (APC)-Visayas Commander post on January 1, from his predecessor Police Lieutenant General Patrick Villacorte.
Police Major General Robert Rodriguez of Jaro district assumed his new post at APC-Visayas which is based in Negros Occidental.
He said it's a dream come true for him to serve his fellow Ilonggos.
He said that when he graduated from the Philippine Military Academy (PMA), it was his dream to serve his hometown and the Region.
Rodriguez has previously served as chief of the Philippine National Police's (PNP) Personnel and Records Management in Camp Crame and awaiting his promotion to three-star general.
He likewise served as chief of the Pototan Municipal Police Station in Iloilo in 1997 and chief of the Iloilo Police Provincial Office's intelligence and special operations group in 2001.
Rodriguez was also the former chief of the Police Regional Office 6's (PRO-6) Regional Intelligence Division from 2011 to 2012 under then PRO-6 director Chief Superintendent Cipriano Querol.
APC-Visayas covers three police regional offices in regions 6, 7, and 8.
With APC-Visayas' mandate to orchestrate, supervise, and control the conduct of inter-regional operations against insurgency, terrorism, and other internal security threats, Rodriguez is calling for public cooperation in the fight against insurgency and terrorism.
He said, he is optimistic that APC Visayas can solve the insurgency problem in these regions with the help of the Philippine Army and the people.
Furthermore, Major General Marion Sison, commander of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division (31D), welcomed Rodriguez as the news APC-Visayas chief.
Rodriquez, Sison, and Samson were classmates at the PMA (Class of 1991).
Sison said the whole of 3ID warmly welcomes the designation of Major General Robert Rodriguez as the acting commander of the APC-Visayas.
The PNP plays a crucial role in our mutual goal and collaborative effort to end local communist armed conflict.
With his visionary and sterling leadership, the Army and the PNP in Western Visayas would be more effective and efficient in achieving this goal which will eventually pave the way towards declaring both the islands of Negros and Panay as insurgency free," said Sison.
For his part, Brigadier General Michael Samson, commander of the Philippine Army's 301st Infantry Brigade, said he is confident that Rodriguez can deliver and could be an effective APC-Visayas chief given his experiences
