Yu named new PNP spokesperson

FILE: Colonel Ysmael S. Yu (center) presides the recent coordination meeting on the security preparation for the conduct of the surfing tournament for the 30th SEA Games set at the beach shore of Barangay Urbiztondo San Juan, La Union on December 1-10, 2019. (Photo by Roland Naoe/PIA 1)

MANILA – The Philippine National Police (PNP) has a new spokesperson.

Col. Ysmael Yu formally assumed on Friday as the PNP spokesperson and acting chief of the PNP Public Information Office.

Yu, a member of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Tanglaw Diwa Class of 1992, replaced Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac who was reassigned as director of the PNP Training Service.

Before his reassignment to the National Headquarters, Yu was deputy regional director for operations of the Police Regional Office-1 (Ilocos Region) since October 2019.

Yu obtained his Master in Public Management degree from the Development Academy of the Philippines in 2017.

He also underwent various training and programs such as counter-terrorism management course, criminal undercover operation course, police intelligence advance course, finance officer basic course, supervisory development course, Special Forces operations course, and others.

He also served as chief of the Special Service Unit of Headquarters Support Service in Camp Crame and chief of Finance Service Office 1 and 3 in 2017.

In 2012, he was a company commander of Bulacan Mobile Force Battalion Company and served as a senior executive assistant at the Office of the Deputy Chief for Operations in 2019.

Based on the existing PNP policy, the spokesperson is the official mouthpiece and publicist of the PNP on public information matters involving internal security and general peace and order and accomplishments of the PNP.

The PNP spokesperson is a personal staff officer of the Chief PNP and holds the concurrent capacity as Chief of the Public Information Office, the lead implementer of the PNP Media Relations Policy at the national headquarters level.