Some 40 graduates of the Master in Public Management, major in Development and Security, conducted by the Development Academy of the Philippines’ Graduate School of Public and Development Management in partnership with the Philippine Public Safety College were urged to “effect change” in the system as they received their diplomas in ceremonies held at the Tejeros Hall of the AFP Commissioned Officers Club in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.
Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Catalino Cuy, pinch-hitting for DILG Secretary Ismael Sueno who was in a National Security Council meeting, told the graduates, the pioneer batch of the 12-month, 41-unit masteral course, to “change and shed your (old) ways” as they are in a better position to do it as part of the system that he implied did not work well enough in the past.
Drawing from the mantra of President Rodrigo Duterte, Cuy said the graduates “should start (their) change today as they to whom much was given, much is expected from” by the people, and because “procrastination would do a disservice to (these) people.” He praised the program for senior executive police officers, saying those with power and authority really need to be equipped properly to effect change, which he said is “quite a challenge.”
The graduates
Receiving their diplomas from DAP President Antonio Kalaw Jr., PPSC President Ricardo de Leon, DAP-GSPDM Associate Dean Dr. Maria Corazon Tapang-Lopez and Cuy himself were Bermar Adlaon, Adolph Almendra, Roger Antonio, Rowena Barredo, Igmedio Bernaldez, Rico Bracamonte, Gaston Cafongtan, Marlo Castillo, Manuel Chan Jr., Glenn Oliver Cinco, James Cipriano, Maurice Coria-En, Maly Cula, Brendan Fulgencio, Donnabel Gocon, Jaime Gonzales, Segundo Lagundi Jr., Silas Laurio Jr., Joanna Lorono, Mario Malana, Portia Manalad, Fernando Mercado, Janet Nieves, Maria Cristina Nobleza, Esmeraldo Osia Jr., Gilbert Peremne, Ariel Quilang, Arnell Remigio, Mariano Rodriguez, Renante Rubio, Norberto Sta. Maria, Jude Tacorda, Jose Gemelo Taol, Emmanuel Tolentino, Romel Tradio, Roy Valenzuela, Bernard Yang, Joie Pacito Yape Jr., Joyce Yuchingtat, and Ringo Zarzoso.
With honors
Three of the graduates completed the program with honors – Peremne, Rubio and Valenzuela – who all earned cum laude distinction.
Peremne was also a gold medal awardee for his action plan and program – the thesis equivalent of the course – entitled “Service Performance Excellence in Jail Management through Civil Service Commission Honor and Awards Program,” as was Valenzuela for his APP “Mainstreaming Restorative Justice in the Criminal Justice System.”
In addition to Valenzuela and Peremne, two other graduates earned silver medals for their APP. These are Osia for his “Institutionalization of the Inoperability Between the Philippine National Police-Aviation Security Unit National Capital Region and Airport Police Department of Manila International Airport Authority at Ninoy Aquino International Airport: Input for Policy Direction,” and Yuchingtat for his “Enhancing of the Program Review Analysis towards Resource Optimization of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology.”
Leadership
Two others were given leadership awards: Lagundi for the Officers Senior Executive Course and Tacorda for the DAP.
The MPM-DevSec is an intensive, in-campus course that caters to the education requirements for promotion and professional advancement of senior officers of the police, fire, jail and other allied public safety services with the rank of superintendent and its equivalent. It aims to “deepen and strengthen the executive leadership and management capability and competence of the (said) senior officers in the context of institutional and sectoral development, innovation, responsiveness, and modernization in public safety.”
The program is divided into the foundational, core, and major courses covering 12 modules. It also includes a two-day course integration and an action plan and project. The foundation courses are equivalent to two units, the core courses 15 units, the major courses that include a three-unit special studies module are worth 15 units, and the APP six.
The program is managed by both the DAP-Graduate School and the PPSC-National Police College.