My congratulations to the newly promoted one-star police generals from the Philippine Military Academy “Dimalupig” Class of 1981 who took their oath of office on Tuesday before Philippine National Police chief Gen. Jess Verzosa.

Most of them good friends of this corner, these officers and gentlemen are expected to be a force to reckon with in the PNP in the next presidency where they are expected to occupy positions of major responsibility.

In fact, they are even being compared to the vaunted PMA Class 1971 which produced some of the best, the toughest, and the brightest generals the PNP had seen in its 19-year history, including two PNP chiefs, even the now- “wanted” Sen. Ping Lacson.

Actually, 39 members of PMA Class 1981 joined the PNP in 1991, and 20 of them are now generals. The rest, except for at least two, are set to earn their promotions very soon.

The first two members of the class to get a star rank are Chief Supt. Don Montenegro, currently the deputy director of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and Chief Supt. Ifor Magbanua of the Internal Affairs Service. Montenegro, the youngest in the class, is not only a future CIDG chief. His classmates told me he is their best bet for Chief, PNP. Who knows really?

Third was Chief Supt. Catalino Cuy, the deputy director and next-in-line at the Directorate for Personnel and Records Management, followed by PNP spokesman Chief Supt. Dindo Espina who could have been the Highway Patrol Group commander a few weeks ago had fate did not intervene. But that’s another story to tell. He-he-he! The fifth was Chief Supt. Enrico Salapong, also of the PNP-IAS.

Last January 20, three members of the class followed suit: Chief Supt. Rex Milton Dolino of the Directorate for Plans and Chief Supt. Cip Querol Jr. of the Directorate for Police-Community Relations, both executive officers; and Chief Supt. Wilson Victorio, the deputy director of the PNP Directorate for Integrated Police Operations in Northern Luzon.

On Tuesday, I was among those who witnessed the oath-taking rites for  12 new chief superintendents from the same class led by Chief Supt. Federico “Bobot” Laciste Jr., the Ex-O of the DIPO Southern Luzon.

The others are Mario Avenido, Manny Barcena, Frank Bucayu, Charles Calima Jr., Nap Estilles, Ben Latag, Jaime Morente, Alan  Purisima, Rolly Purugganan, Bay Rojas Jr., and Louie Saligumba.

Avenido is the Ex-O of DIPO-Visayas. Barcena is the Ex-O of the Directorate for Intelligence; Bucayo is the head of the PNP Human Rights Affairs Office; Calima is the director of the PNP Training Service; Estilles is the Ex-O of the Directorate for Information and Communications Technology;

Latag is the director of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Police Regional Office who made history when he became the first PMA Class 1981 member to become an RD while still a senior superintendent and later  promoted, all courtesy of Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno.

Morente is the Ex-O of the Northern Mindanao; Purisima is the Ex-O of the Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management; Purugganan is the Ex-O of the DIPO Western Mindanao; Rojas is the Ex-O of the Directorate for Logistics; and Saligumba is the Ex-O of the Directorate for Research and Development.

It was nice to see good old friends, the likes of Bobot Laciste, Cip Querol, Charles Calima, Mario Avenido, Manny Barcena, Frank Bucayu, Nap Estilles, Alan Purisima, Rolly Purugganan, and Bay Rojas wearing their new insignias.

I even saw General Verzosa being assisted by a gray-haired Charles Calima Sr., who looks every inch like a general himself, as he pinned the new rank insignia to Charles Jr.

It’s so nice to see a proud father celebrating with a new general who happened to be his son.

How time really flies? I came to know these officers when they were still young captains and watched their career grow. My congratulations to you, guys!