‘Mr. Cool’ says goodbye with a song; he’ll say hello soon
Posted by Michille on July 5th, 2006
‘Mr. Cool’ says goodbye with a song; he’ll say hello soon – INQ7.net!
Inquirer
Published on Page A1 of the July 5, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
STRUMMING a guitar and belting out a 1960s John Denver song, the man who helped keep President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in power during the troublous “Garci†days said goodbye to his men hinting that he might be back in government.
No sooner had outgoing Philippine National Police Director General Arturo Lomibao’s song faded in the air than Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza quipped in a video tape message to him: “Welcome to the Cabinet.â€
Lomibao is retiring as PNP chief as he turns 56 today, and his departure has sparked talk that he might be back as director of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
Lomibao made no effort to kill rumors that a new government post is waiting for him.
“If given another chance to serve government, I will make myself available,†Lomibao told reporters during an advance birthday bash for him at Camp Crame national police headquarters in Quezon City on Monday night, where he sang the Denver piece “Leaving on a Jet Plane,†the audience at times joining him.
‘Mr. Cool’
Lomibao, called “Mr. Cool†because he is not known to raise his voice, said his other options were farming and traveling.
“I will sleep for at least a week to reenergize, then do some travelling and come back to reality as an ordinary citizen,†he said.
But his immediate plan is to stroll on the beaches of Boracay, where he has built what his men say is a “world-class police station.â€
Lomibao had made it a priority to upgrade police stations, especially in areas where his men work in dilapidated quarters. Colleagues say this is his true legacy.
Loyal to the Chief
Lomibao is also known as the police chief who stayed loyal to his commander and kept the police from disintegrating. He had said the foiled plot of some of his troopers in the Special Action Force (SAF) to take him hostage and force him into withdrawing support from Ms Arroyo last February was his biggest crisis during his 16 months in office.
Lomibao believes he is leaving the PNP more solid than before.
“We are more united and we have the SAF solidly behind the PNP and government institutions. I do not see any disintegration of the SAF or any unit of the PNP now or in the future,†he said.
Crisis after crisis
Chief Superintendent Rafael Rafanan said it was Lomibao’s “coolness†during difficult situations that served him well.
“The others could already be rattled … but I saw how cool he was in handling a crisis,†Rafanan said.
One crisis after another hounded Lomibao during his term at the PNP helm.
He had to skip ceremonies marking his assumption of the PNP command on March 14 last year because that was the day when Abu Sayyaf detainees chose to seize their jail in Taguig City.
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