PRESIDENT Duterte has appointed Environment Undersecretary for Protected Areas and Special Concerns Edilberto Leonardo as commissioner of the National Police Commission (Napolcom).
Leonardo, a retired police colonel, replaced retired police general Felizardo Serapio, who completed his six-year-term as Napolcom commissioner last February 11.
As the DENR Undersecretary, Leonardo also served as the concurrent executive director of the department’s Anti-Illegal Logging Task Force.
Leonardo retired from the police service in September 2020 and was later named as DENR undersecretary. Leonardo’s last post in the PNP was as head of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group-Davao region.
Napolcom Vice Chairman and Executive Officer Vitaliano Aguirre II announced Leonardo’s appointment as Napolcom commissioner yesterday.
“The Napolcom welcomes the well-deserved appointment of Commissioner Leonardo and we assure him of our support and guidance,” said Aguirre. “His vast experience in law enforcement and in the DENR will definitely be an asset to the Commission.”
Napolcom is chaired by Interior Secretary Eduardo Año, with Aguirre serving as vice chairman and executive officer.
It has three regular commissioners — Leonardo, Job Mangente and Zenonida Brosas. The PNP chief, currently Gen. Dionardo Carlos, serves as an ex-officio commissioner of the commission.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court yesterday approved the designation of Deputy Court Administrator Raul Villanueva as the new court administrator.
SC Spokesperson Brian Keith Hosaka said the move was reached by the justices during their en banc session Tuesday.
Villanueva took the post left vacant by the appointment of long-time court administrator Jose Midas Marquez as an associate justice of the High Court.
As court administrator, Villanueva will exercise supervision over the trial courts, including the 2,600 trial court judges and 25,000 court employees nationwide. — With Ashzel Hachero
