Christmas may not be so merry for scalawags in uniform.
As policemen cheered the release of their yearend bonus, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said it would withhold the 13th month pay for personnel with pending administrative and criminal cases.
“As a disciplinary policy, the release of the 13th month pay to PNP personnel with pending administrative and criminal cases is deferred,” PNP Director General Nicanor A. Bartolome said in a statement.
PNP spokesperson Chief Superintendent Agrimero Cruz Jr. said the bonuses would be released “upon clearance” of their cases, per civil service rules.
The PNP has started issuing the checks for the second tranche of the yearend bonus for some 140,000 active police personnel.
Police comptroller Director Rey Lañada said checks had been released by the PNP Finance Service to police regional offices and national support units through the Regional Finance Service Offices nationwide.