In life, we meet many people from all walks of life. One such person is Police Brigadier General Warren Ferrer de Leon, who was introduced to me by his friend who recommended his inclusion in my coffee-table book Asian Heroes 2023 to be launched on 11 November 2023 at the Manila Hotel Centennial Hall.

General Warren impressed me as a humble, congenial, and intelligent police officer. Judging from his narrative of his growing up years, he was hugely influenced by his exemplary and God-fearing parents — Wilfredo Villarin de Leon, a municipal treasurer; and Marcela Zaldivar Ferrer, an election officer, both from Roxas, Oriental Mindoro. His parents inculcated the values of honesty, respect, hard work, humility, and love of country in General Warren from his childhood. His mother encouraged him to join the Boy Scouts when he was young, the ROTC when he was a teenager, and his mother’s brother advised him to study at the Philippine National Police Academy to serve the country as a police officer.

As fate would have it, he followed his uncle’s advice, and after his PNPA graduation, his police career took off due to his excellent performance, dedication and commitment to duty. He belongs to Class of 1993.

Today, he is the director of the Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group of the Philippine National Police; he was appointed on 15 July 2021. It was then when IMEG was adjudged as the best National Operational Support Unit of the PNP during the 120th Police Service Anniversary Celebrations in August 2021.

The role of IMEG is to monitor illegal activities of rogue police personnel to strictly enforce the law against these bad elements in uniform. Its main function is to conduct an all-out integrity monitoring and law enforcement operations against erring personnel in support of the Internal Cleansing Program of the PNP urgently pushed forward by PNP Chief R. Azurin.

Strong leadership

The significant operational accomplishments of IMEG, despite its meager resources and lack of personnel, is testament to the strong leadership of General Warren and the dedicated service of the police force to be the instruments of change regardless of the risks and danger they face daily in the performance of their work.

During his multi-awarded police career, General Warren has received 93 Medals of Honor from the PNP. He has undergone numerous police trainings, among them the Special Action Force Operations Course at the PNP SAP. He also underwent Criminal Investigation Course and Financial Investigation Course at the International Law Enforcement Academy in Bangkok, Thailand, in the years 2004 and 2006. He also participated in the Police Undercover Investigation Techniques Seminar conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and from 26 to 30 March 2012, he attended the Safety Officers Seminar by the FBI held in Los Angeles, California, USA.

General Warren believes in the building of a more humane, just, compassionate, and democratic society using ethical honor, reason, experience and knowledge to bring about the well-being and safety of all Filipinos. He believes in living a good, meaningful life through dedicated service and duty to God, country and the Filipino people. Indeed he deserves to be honored as an Asian hero.