Archie Gamboa

Archie Francisco Feranil Gamboa (Tagalog: [ɡɐmˈboʊ.a]; born September 2, 1964) is a Filipino lawyer and retired police general who served as the 23rd Chief of the Philippine National Police from October 2019 to September 2020.

Gamboa was born and raised in Bukidnon and graduated from the Philippine Military Academy in 1986. He served in the Philippine Army's Scout Rangers in Northern Mindanao before joining the police force in 1997 as the spokesperson of the Davao Region Police Office. He was the provincial police chief of Bukidnon from 2005 to 2007 and was later assigned to Camp Crame, Caraga, and Calabarzon. While at Camp Crame, he studied law at José Rizal University and passed the bar exam in 2004. In 2017, he became the Chief of the Directorial Staff, the PNP's fourth-highest position, and rose through the ranks, becoming the Deputy Chief for Administration in 2019—the second-highest position. After Oscar Albayalde's resignation in October 2019 amidst the ninja cops controversy, Gamboa was appointed officer-in-charge (OIC) of the PNP. In January 2020, President Rodrigo Duterte officially appointed Gamboa as PNP Chief. In that capacity, he oversaw the security of the 2019 Southeast Asian Games and the implementation of community quarantines early into the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gamboa is a native of the province of Bukidnon, having been born in Malaybalay on September 2, 1964. He completed his primary education at Maramag's central elementary school and for his secondary education, he attended and graduated from Ateneo de Davao University located in Davao City. In 1982, Gamboa enlisted as a cadet in the Philippine Military Academy in Baguio and graduated as a member of the Sinagtala Class of 1986, the same batch as the two PNP Chiefs that preceded him: Ronald dela Rosa and Oscar Albayalde, as well as his successor, Camilo Cascolan. His contemporary AFP Chiefs, Felimon Santos Jr. and Gilbert Gapay, were also his batchmates.

Gamboa later attained a Master of Business Administration from Father Saturnino Urios University in Butuan in 1995. He then pursued law school at Ateneo de Davao University in 1998 during his stint as spokesman for the Davao Region Police Office in Davao City. After being assigned with the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Quezon City in 2002, Gamboa transferred to José Rizal University where he completed his Bachelor of Laws in 2004 and was admitted to the Philippine Bar in May 2005.

Gamboa began his military and policing career as a member of the 1st Scout Ranger Regiment of the Philippine Army deployed to Talakag, Bukidnon to suppress the local communist rebellion in the area. He received a military merit medal and military commendation medal for this assignment. He then spent several years as a battalion command staff member in Northern Mindanao before officially joining the national police force as a spokesperson for the Davao Region Police Office based in Camp Panacan, Davao City in 1997. After four years, Gamboa transferred to the national headquarters of the Philippine National Police as a duty officer of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group. He spent two years in Camp Crame before returning to Mindanao to serve as provincial police chief in his native Bukidnon in 2005.

As chief of the Bukidnon Provincial Police Office based in Malaybalay, Gamboa initiated programs to significantly reduce crime and stifle the communist insurgency in the province. He was again reassigned in Camp Crame as chief of the Legislative Affairs Center under the PNP Directorate for Plans in 2007 and as chief of the Logistics Resource Management Division under the PNP Directorate for Logistics until 2008. Gamboa then served briefly as chief of the Regional Comptrollership Division of the Caraga Regional Police Office in Butuan until 2009.

Gamboa's other early leadership positions with the national police include serving as chief of the Budget Division of the PNP Directorate for Comptrollership in 2012 and sitting as chief of the Bids and Awards Committee Secretariat Division of the PNP Directorate for Logistics in 2013. Between 2013 and 2015, Gamboa was assigned with the Calabarzon Region Police Office in Calamba, Laguna as regional chief of the Calabarzon PNP Directorial Staff and then as the regional police's Deputy Chief for Operations. As a Calabarzon PNP executive, he initiated measures to achieve a zero backlog in administrative cases of erring personnel using his lawyer skills and experience. Gamboa earned his one-star rank while serving as Executive Officer of the PNP Directorate for Logistics in 2015.

Gamboa then served as deputy director for the logistics directorate before taking on the role of Director for Comptrollership in 2016. As comptrollership chief, he was frequently seen representing the Philippine National Police in budget hearings in the Philippine Senate and House of Representatives. He was also credited for reinstating the combat duty pay and combat incentive pay for PNP personnel and the specialist pay for the Internal Affairs Service and the Maritime Group as comptrollership director. He earned his three-star rank in March 2017 when he was appointed as Chief of the Directorial Staff, the fourth-highest position within the Philippine National Police.