BBM at PNP command conference: Not a loyalty check

It was not a loyalty check but an admonition to strengthen focus on addressing criminality, the country’s national police chief said yesterday of his first command conference with President Marcos at Camp Crame, amid rumors of destabilization attempts.

- EMMANUEL TUPAS

Marcos arrived at Camp Crame before 11 a.m. and presided over a meeting with Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr. and senior police officials for about an hour.

During the meeting, Acorda said they briefed the Chief Executive on the PNP’s operational accomplishments under his administration.

Security was tight around Camp Crame, which was placed on lockdown until Marcos left the police camp. Media coverage was not allowed during the meeting.

“No, I don’t consider it as a loyalty check,” Acorda said at a briefing when asked about the agenda for the command conference. “He wants us to really focus on our crime solution efficiency, which he recognized as something we have achieved.”