TACLOBAN CITY — The Philippine National Police (PNP) has designated an officer with extensive experience in intelligence and counterterrorism as the new chief of the Tacloban City Police Office (TCPO).

In a memorandum issued on Thursday, Camp Crame named Police Col. Marben Ordonia as the new TCPO chief, replacing Police Col. Noelito Getigan, who has been temporarily reassigned to the Regional Personnel Holding and Accounting Unit while awaiting his next assignment.

Getigan served as TCPO chief for two years.

Ordonia's appointment came in the wake of the June 22 deadly shooting at San Jose National High School and several other threats of attacks on schools in Eastern Visayas.

The San Jose National High School shooting is believed to have links to a global online network of violent extremists known as "764," which targets vulnerable minors online, grooming and coercing them into committing increasingly violent acts.

Before his assignment as TCPO chief, Ordonia served as chief of the Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism Division of the PNP Aviation Security Group (AVSEGROUP) at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

Ordonia has previously served in Eastern Visayas in various capacities.

In 2021, he led the Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) "Maghanoy," which investigated the fatal shooting of James Diaz Maghanoy, the municipal election officer of Lope de Vega, Northern Samar.

The following year, Ordonia was appointed deputy provincial director for operations of the Northern Samar Police Provincial Office, where he led area-clearing operations in villages declared free from communist influence.

In 2023, he was assigned to the Police Regional Office 8 (PRO8) as chief of the Regional Intelligence Division (RID).

Ordonia later became embroiled in controversy after linking a barangay captain in a Leyte town to a criminal group suspected of terrorizing Ormoc City and other areas in the province's third district.