By Jennifer P. Rendon
Former Western Visayas Police Chief and now PNP’s third highest ranking officer, Lieutenant General Cesar Hawthorne Binag, led the Police Regional Office (PRO)-6’s wreath laying ceremony to commemorate the gallantry of the 44 Special Action Force (SAF) commandos who were killed in an operation in Mamasapano, Maguindanao six years ago.
Binag, the PNP Deputy Chief for Operations, was joined by Brigadier General Rolando Miranda, Western Visayas police chief; Major General Emmanuel Luis Licup, the PNP Directorate for Comptrollership chief; and Brigadier General Nickson Muksan, deputy chief of the Directorate for Integrated Police Operations (DIPO) – Visayas.
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, through Presidential Proclamation No.164, proclaimed every 25th of January as the “National Day of Remembrance for the Gallant SAF 44” to remind the Filipinos of the heroism of the SAF 44 during the Mamasapano Clash on January 25, 2015.
The day also honors the daily sacrifices of the uniformed servicemen to maintain peace and security.
During the celebration, Binag read the message of PNP chief General Debold Sinas for the occasion, which was done all over the country.
After citing the gallantry of the 44 SAF troopers, Binag also expressed his gratitude to the PRO-6 personnel and to the community of Western Visayas for their help during his stint as PRO-6 Regional Director.
“PRO-6 has a bigger contribution in my career as police officer. I don’t want my career in the PNP to end without saying thank you to the men and women of PRO-6 and to the people of Panay and Negros, you’ve been part of my success,” Binag said.
After the program, he also presided over the Oversight Committee Meeting on Illegal Drugs, Illegal Gambling and Enhanced Managing Police Operations (EMPO).
