By Dean Aubrey Caratiquet
After the Palace’s earlier announcement of his appointment as the new head of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) on Wednesday, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. led the oath taking of former Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr. (Ret.) as the commission’s top official on Thursday.
Acorda previously served as the PNP chief under the Marcos Jr. administration from April 2023 to April 2024.
He also had extensive experience in various capacities, holding key positions within the PNP—as the Regional Director of Police Regional Office 10 (Northern Mindanao), PNP Director for Intelligence, and as the station director of the Palawan Police Provincial Office from 2014 to 2016.
A pioneer of the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group, Acorda held multiple key positions in the police force, including Deputy Regional Director for the National Capital Region Police Office, Director of the Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group, Chief of Staff of the Civil Security Group, and Chief of the Anti-Fraud and Commercial Crimes Division.
Acorda will be replacing Gilbert Cruz, who took office as the PAOCC chief in 2023.
The PAOCC is established by virtue of Executive Order No. 295, s. 2000, as a task force with the mandate of combatting organized and syndicated crimes that may have ties with people in the government, which includes smuggling, drug trafficking, bank frauds, and piracy.
The agency is likewise responsible for unearthing criminality and corrupt practices, as well as holding government officials and criminals accountable for their actions.
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