Poe to name Ariel Querubin anti-crime czar if she becomes President

Retired Marine colonel Ariel Querubin (indicated by arrow) was part of Sen. Grace Poe's coterie when she arrived at the debate venue in UP Cebu. Photo by DANNY PATA, GMA News

Sen. Grace Poe has vowed to appoint a former rebel soldier and Medal of Valor awardee as anti-crime czar should she become the President.

Poe mentioned that she will designate retired Marine Colonel Ariel Querubin as her  anti-crime czar during the second leg of the PiliPinas Debate 2016 at the University of the Philippines Cebu campus.

Querubin was with Poe's delegation in Sunday's debate. He was also present when Poe made public her senatorial slate at the Club Filipino in October 2015.

Ariel Querubin and ex-DFA Sec Romulo, father of Rep Roman Romulo, among those present @gmanews pic.twitter.com/A0tgzzESIR

— amitalegaspi (@amitalegaspi) October 29, 2015

The senator, who has been criticized for her lack of experience in government, mentioned Querubin’s name after she denied she was incapable of solving the country’s problem on illegal drugs.

“Iniisip ng iba na kung ako ay magiging pangulo, hindi ko kaya sugpuin ang droga. Hindi po totoo ‘yan. Ako ay magtatalaga ng isang crime czar na mapagkakatiwalaan at matapang. Si Colonel Ariel Querubin ang aking magiging crime czar,” she said.

Reacting to Poe's statement, Querubin said: " I am deeply honored by the trust put in me by Senator Grace Poe. I believe in her, her dreams, ideals and aspirations. Of all the candidates, it is her policy towards peace and order that makes the most sense. Murder cannot be an instrument of national policy because it goes against humanity itself."

Querubin is a member of the Philippine Military Academy Class of 1979 and one of the most decorated officers in the Armed Forces. He was a recipient of the military’s highest honor, the Medal of Valor for leading a Marine battalion in a 24-hour firefight against an estimated 300 fully armed Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) fighters in Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte in March 2000.

He was also credited for:

• The neutralization of Jessie Rafael, provincial chairman of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA) in Abucay, Bataan in 1981;
• The neutralization of four Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) leaders in Southern Palawan in 1983;
• The rescue of Swiss national Hans Kunsli in Sulu in 1986;
• The neutralization of MNLF leader Racquel Carreon in Brooke’s Point, Palawan and CPP-NPA commander Ka Ninong in Aborlan, Palawan in 1988;
• The neutralization of Barahama Sali that led to the release of Fr. Cirilo Nacorda in 1994, and
• The neutralization Abu Sayyaf spokesperson Abu Sabaya in 2002.

As one of the founders of the military group Young Officers’ Union (YOU), he helped stage the nearly successful coup attempt against President Corazon Aquino in December 1989. He was jailed over the incident, but was later pardoned and allowed to reenter military service.

In 2006, Querubin was involved in a seven-hour standoff with government troops after he and a group of Marines protested the relief of Marine commandant, Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda, at the Marines headquarters in Fort Bonifacio.

He was automatically resigned from military service after he filed his certificate of candidacy for senator under the Nacionalista Party in the 2010 elections.

After the pork barrel controversy broke out in 2013, Querubin revealed that alleged scam mastermind Janet Lim Napoles was only a struggling military supplier in the 1990s, contrary to her claim that she was already a successful businesswoman.

He has blamed the death of his wife, Lorie, on Napoles after a meeting with her. — APG/JST/RSJ, GMA News