President Ferdinand Marcos named former Philippine National Police chief Benjamin C. Acorda Jr. as the new executive director of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC).
Palace Press Officer Claire Castro announced the appointment on Wednesday.
Acorda was a member of the Philippine Military Academy Sambisig Class of 1991. Prior to leading the PNP, he also served as head of its Directorate for Intelligence.
He will replace Undersecretary Gilbert Cruz as head of PAOCC.
Castro said Cruz will be given a new government position, but she declined to divulge it for now.
Under Cruz’s leadership, PAOCC launched a crackdown on Philippine offshore gambling operations (POGO), which was linked to human trafficking and other criminal activities.
As of press time, Malacañang has yet to disclose the reason for the change in leadership of PAOCC.
This was also the case when Marcos decided to appoint last week the new heads of the three attached agencies of the Department of Transportation (DOTr).
Special Envoy on Transnational Crime Markus Lacanilao was designated as the new chairman of the Land Transportation Office (LTO), while Vigor Mendoza II and Teofilo Guadiz III became the heads of Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), and Office of Transport Cooperatives (OTC), respectively.