FEATURE STORY: An officer’s tale Pursuing a childhood dream

CEBU, Philippines - “Part of you is in heaven nga makatabang ka, despite sa maliit na sweldo nakakatulong ka ng marami.”

That is how a multi-awarded and battle-scarred police official, who had been deployed not only in local battlefields but in international peacekeeping missions as well, described his joy of serving his country even if sacrificed his own family.

Police Superintendent Clifford Gairanod, 46, commander of the Regional Public Safety Battalion 7, was born in Plaridel town, Misamis Occidental. He was the eldest of four siblings.

His father, Valser Gairanod, also a police officer, and his being a witness to how men in uniform were slaughtered by insurgents in his hometown influenced him to enter into the police service. Gairanod persevered to become a police officer despite his father’s vehement objection.

“Nakikita ko sa harap ko binabaril yung mga PC (Philippine Constabulary), yung mga pulis, nakikita ko na nililinlang nila yung mga tao na sumama sa kanila, maraming masa sa amin,” Gairanod recalled.

According to him, had he not been a witness to all those crimes perpetrated by the insurgents at his young age, he would not have had an inkling of serving his country.

Gairanod said that his grandmother took care of him until he graduated elementary at the Collegio dela Inmaculada Concepcion in Cebu City. But his parents took him back to Mindanao where he finished high school at St. Nicholas High School, a private school in his hometown.

Although he was just an average student, Gairanod managed to maintain his being a COCOFED scholar all throughout his high school years. He would have wanted to immediately enter into the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) after his high school graduation but his father did not want him to become a policeman.

He was instead sent to Cebu City where he studied Mechanical Engineering at the University of San Carlos. Because his father wanted him to become an engineer, Gairanod deferred his plan. While in college, he took an advance Reserved Officers Training Corps (ROTC). 

He also tried to join the US Navy after passing the exams twice but his father did not give him permission. Persistent in the pursuit of his dream, Gairanod returned to ask his father’s blessing to enter the PNPA after finishing his engineering course.

“Gusto kong magpulis, nakapasok ako, hingin ko na yung blessing mo,” he recalled how he bluntly told his father.

Gairanod said his father did not have a choice anymore but to allow him to enter the academy. On 1991, he was officially admitted as PNPA cadet.

Three days after his graduation in 1993, Gairanod married a nurse who came from a military family. They were blessed with two sons, Clifton and Cliven. Clifton also followed his footstep and is now a 3rd class PNPA cadet while Cliven is a graduating high school student at the Bright Academy.

Gairanod went on several trainings including ranger force, rapid rescue and other trainings to augment  his  skills, after graduating from the PNPA.

His first assignment was in Regional Special Action Force (RSAF-7) where he was sent to Negros Oriental to fight against New People’s Army (NPA) rebels. He remembered his wife used to follow him in Negros but did not stay long because the place was far from civilization.

Because NPA rebels would often snipe police officers, they used to live inside a fox hole, a hole below the land covered with a roof on the surface with only a small hole to see if there are people nearby.

It was during his assignment in Negros where he experienced his “baptism of fire” that would forever bear a mark in his life because six of his colleagues died in the battlefield. 

He stayed with RSAF-7 for three years until he opted to take the Officers Basic Course.

“Pagkatapos ng OBC ang top 10 kasi doon kinukuha ng region, so kinuha ako ng Human Resources Development Department (HRDD), eventually naging head din ako ng Special Training Unit,” said Gairanod.

It was during his watch as head of STU where five recruits died during training in Bogo City. The incident resulted in the filing of charges against him but he was eventually exonerated.

His career suffered a temporary setback after he was put on a floating status because of the accident in Bogo. He was again given a break when then Cebu City mayor Alvin Garcia chose him to head the city’s Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team. He was given numerous awards and commendations during his stint as SWAT commander.

International mission

The financial needs of his growing family prompted Gairanod to apply in the United Nations peacekeeping force. In 2001, he took the exams and passed giving him the ticket to be part of the UN peacekeeping force in East Timor where he served two presidents.

As part of the UN peacekeepers he was receiving allowance from the UN on top of his salary in the PNP. Gairanod said he served former East Timor presidents Xanana Gusmao and Jose Ramos-Horta.

While in the UN deployment, he took bomb counter measures and VIP training which paved the way to his becoming Horta’s close-in security.

“Eventually doon ako natutulog sa bahay ni Horta, kahit personal na lakad ni Horta ako ang tinatawagan nya,” said Gairanod.

While his deployment in the UN gave him the needed financial benefit for his family, it also caused his marriage. Gairanod turned down Horta’s request to extend his services and headed back home to save his marriage but failed. 

Upon his return to the Philippines, Police Regional Office 4-A, Chief Supt. Alejandro Lapinid, took him in as personnel chief for four years and Intel Officer for two years before becoming and deputy chief of police in Los Baños.

The he took an Officers Advance Course then applied for another UN Peacekeeping Mission. Gairanod volunteered for Iraq but was sent to Liberia in Africa.

Upon his return in 2006 to the Philippines he was assigned in Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao where he got was again given the position as personnel chief.

He was later assigned as chief of police in Julu, Sulu and deputy provincial director in Basilan. Gairanod also served as the commanding officer of the 909th Provincial Mobile Group and the chief of the Provincial Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Group (PAIDSOT).

He recalled having retrieved two Abu Sayyaf  hostages alive in an operation he himself personally conducted that earned him another distinction.

But Gairanod’s success in career also caused him his marriage. In 2006, his wife left him and their two sons for the US and did not anymore return until now. After several years, Gairanod decided to move on and opted for an annulment.

“Kung successful ka sa career mo may setback din, di ka successful sa marriage life, which is kinakainggitan ko sa ibang opisyal,” he said.

Gairanod went back to UN peacekeeping  mission and took on an assignment in Kosovo. After his contract expired, he went back to schooling and took the Officers Senior Executive Course (OSEC).

He was later named deputy city director of Lapu-lapu but Gairanod gave way to an upper class senior officer because he was only a superintendent. He said the position requires an officer with a rank of senior superintendent.

During the stint of Chief Supt. Marcelo Garbo as PRO-7 director, Gairanod was designated as Deputy Police Community Relations (PCR), spokesman and Chief of Crimes Referral Action Center (CRAC) before getting his current position.

He was appointed battalion commander of RPSB-7 after passing the Police Executive Service Eligibility Examination. He said only two of  them from PNPA class 1993 got key positions, an entry positions for senior superintendent. The other is Supt. Paul Labra, II, who is now chief of the Regional Intelligence Division.

Gairanod and Labra are now up for promotion to the next higher rank. In fact, they are now waiting for an interview.

Gairanod led the police augmentation force from PRO-7 during the Zamboanga crisis when muslim rebels loyal to Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) chairman Nur Misuari siege the government center in the city.

“Pag may bakbakan nandoon talaga ako, kasi ako talaga yung nagli-lead, sa tingin ko lang ng panahong iyon yun ang pinaka-unang baptism of fire nila,” he said.

“Kasi hindi naman kasi sila napasubo dito sa Cebu kasi peaceful. Sa Cebu wala naman tayong encounter sa NPA,” he added.—/FPL (FREEMAN)