Downplaying his short tenure, newly installed Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Lieutenant General Camilo Cascolan said on Wednesday, September 2, that he considered himself “just a transitional leader.”

“Being a transition[al] leader, I have to embed and instill in the minds of the people that this is what the PNP needs,” Cascolan said in a Rappler Talk interview, one of his first sit-down interviews after his appointment.

The new police chief is retiring in 2 months in November, when he reaches the mandatory age of retirement of 56.

President Rodrigo Duterte, however, can extend Cascolan’s term.

Cascolan said he planned to make the most out of the two months by crafting policies that could be continued by his successor.

“My ideas may be evaluated and changed but at least I paved the way for a better organization and for a better PNP… I really wish that these ideas will become the initial basis of all their ideas, of all their projects and programs,” Cascolan added.

The impact he wants

Cascolan earlier said that he aimed to usher in a “new phase” in the Duterte anti-drug campaign by focusing on improving the training and selection of police personnel.

He argued that better trained personnel with “high morale” would mean better performances and less abuses. (READ: New PNP chief Cascolan: Time for ‘new phase’ in drug war)

Even before retiring, however, Cascolan’s legacy on the PNP could easily be gleaned.

Cascolan was one of the co-authors of Oplan Double Barrel, the basis for the deadly anti-drug campaign of President Duterte that, depending on the group counting, has killed over 5,600 to 8,000 drug suspects.

Human rights advocates estimated that the anti-drug campaign has killed at least 30,000, including killings outside police operations inspired by the campaign. – Rappler.com