Debold Sinas
Debold Menorias Sinas is a Filipino retired police general who served as Chief of the Philippine National Police from November 2020 to May 2021. During his tenure, he oversaw the COVID-19 community quarantines in the Philippines. However, he was also accused of violating the COVID-19 lockdown rules himself.
Sinas graduated from the Philippine Military Academy in 1987. He served as the police chief of Central Visayas and Metro Manila before becoming chief of the PNP. After his retirement, he was appointed as an undersecretary to President Rodrigo Duterte. Since July 2022, he is serving as Cebu City's peace and order adviser.
Early life and education
Debold Menorias Sinas was born on May 8, 1965, in Quezon City, Philippines. However he would spend most of his childhood in Butuan in Mindanao. At the encouragement of his father, he entered the Philippine Military Academy, and graduated from the institution in 1987 as part of the Hinirang class.. Sinas told SunStar Cebu in an interview that he joined the academy due to pressure from his father – he was warned that if he did not get in, he would not be accepted back home.Career
Prior to serving as Central Visayas police chief, Sinas served in the Police Regional Office 12 as Deputy Regional Director for Administration and in Camp Crame as secretary to the Directorial Staff under the Office of the Chief Directorial Staff and later, director of the PNP Crime Laboratory. He was promoted to Police Chief Superintendent in April 2017.Key Positions
- Deputy Director for Administration, Police Regional Office 12
- Secretary to the Directorial Staff, PNP NHQ
- Director, PNP Crime Laboratory Group
- Regional Director, Police Regional Office 7
- Regional Director, NCRPO
- Chief, PNP
Central Visayas chief
Sinas was police chief of the Philippine National Police's Police Regional Office 7, which had jurisdiction over Central Visayas, for one year and four months. He worked under the office from July 2018 to October 2019. During his term at this post, Negros Oriental, a province under his jurisdiction, was the subject of intense scrutiny due to the 2017–19 Negros Island killings which led to Sinas appearing at an August 2019 Senate hearing to explain the increased number of killings in the province. The Senate investigation determined that the police and military carried out most of the killings as part of its counter-insurgency operations against the communist New People's Army, along with armed vigilante groups that targeted suspected communists and leftists.Metro Manila chief
Sinas was reassigned to Metro Manila in October 2019. His appointment as chief of the National [Capital Region Police Office] was announced on October 10, 2019. and formally assumed the position on October 16, vowing to tackle illegal drugs, bribery, and gambling in Metro Manila. He succeeded Guillermo Eleazar, who was appointed as chief of the PNP Directorial Staff.By November 2019, 143 police officers from Central Visayas were reassigned to Metro Manila police office. One of the transferred personnel was assigned as the office's intelligence officer, though Sinas did not enact other leadership changes at the time.
Sinas launched a biometrics system for the NCRPO on December 2, 2019, for accurate attendance monitoring of the police office's personnel.
Philippine National Police chief
On November 9, 2020, President Rodrigo Duterte announced that Sinas would be the next chief of Philippine National Police after the retirement of PNP Chief Camilo Cascolan. Sinas' tenure began the following day.On May 8, 2021, Sinas celebrated his 56th birthday – the mandatory retirement age of police officers in the Philippines. Sinas' 6-month watch as top cop was marred with controversies. He was succeeded by Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar as Philippine National Police chief.
Post-police career
On September 11, 2021, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea announced that Sinas was appointed undersecretary of the Office of the President.On July 4, 2022, Cebu City mayor Mike Rama appointed Sinas to the Cebu City Advisory Board. He is to specialize on peace and order concerns.
Family and personal life
Sinas' father was a military officer born in Butuan, in the Caraga region of Mindanao island. Sinas' father had died before he graduated from the Philippine Military Academy in 1987. He mentioned in an interview that he "pushed to really graduate as a promise to father". Sinas has two children. He also mentioned in the same interview that his mother and widowed sister were living with his children.''Voltes V''
Sinas' favorite show growing up was the Japanese anime television series, Voltes V. The show's theme song, "Voltes V no Uta", has become a trademark for Sinas. The Police Regional Office in Central Visayas would play the theme song during ceremonies in the headquarters and even during police operations. When asked why the anime show was his favorite, Sinas said that "it embodied teamwork". During his stint as National Capital Region Police Office Director, Sinas once again used the concept of Voltes V in terms of the different stakeholders—such as the police, the community, and government— "volting in" to achieve one goal.On November 9, 2020, "NCRPO Fitness Team", a YouTube channel run by the National Capital Region Police office where Sinas was stationed for almost a year in 2019–2020, uploaded a video featuring Sinas leading a four-minute workout routine to the Voltes V theme song.