MANILA, Philippines — Filipinos will benefit from a new law that modifies the classification of ranks at the Philippine National Police (PNP), Senator Panfilo Lacson said Thursday.
President Rodrigo Duterte signed Republic Act No. 11200 last Feb. 8, a copy of which was released to the media Thursday.
The new law standardizes the rank of PNP officers.
READ: Duterte signs law to modify ranks of policemen
“This measure eliminates confusion on how our law enforcers must be addressed, and brings our policemen closer to the populace,” Lacson, who authored the new law, said in a statement.
“More importantly, this allows for better coordination between the PNP and other law enforcement units in countering terrorism and other threats to national security,” he added.
The new law makes the PNP’s rank classification system distinct from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). The word “Police will now precede ranks of PNP personnel.”
It also clarifies the command and responsibility in the PNP for effective and efficient supervision and control among its uniformed personnel.
These are the new ranks in the PNP:
-Police General
-Police Lieutenant General
-Police Major General
-Police Brigadier General Police Colonel
-Police Lieutenant Colonel
-Police Major
-Police Captain
-Police Lieutenant
-Police Executive Master Sergeant
-Police Chief Master Sergeant
-Police Senior Master Sergeant
-Police Master Sergeant
-Police Staff Sergeant
-Police Corporal
-Patrolman/Patrolwoman
Lacson said that similar ranks between the PNP and AFP would enhance their interoperability, citing experiences of “delay in coordination” between policemen and soldiers in the past.
“We cannot afford any delay in coordination in counter-terrorism operations and operations against other threats to national security,” he said.
The senator likewise noted that the new rank classification would also spare police officers from the need to explain their equivalent ranks to foreign police forces during regional or international police engagements.
He clarified, however, that this move will not militarize the PNP. /ee
READ: PNP hails law modifying police officers’ ranks