Gamboa tells cops: Fix your weight or be denied schooling for promotion

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police (PNP) has once again sought to win the battle against the bulge.

PNP officer-in-charge Lt. Gen. Archie Gamboa warned all police officers, from patrolman up to the high-ranking generals, to start losing weight, if not their paunches, if they don’t want to be denied schooling needed for their promotion for higher ranks, as well as for certain positions within the organization.

“Pipirmahan ko na ‘yung [memorandum] na kapag hindi ka compliant sa BMI [requirement], you will be denied schooling, na up until you comply to the BMI requirements, that’s the only time na (that) you can go to schooling,” he said in a press briefing at Camp Crame on Monday.

BMI is an indicator of high body fatness, and which can be used to screen for weight categories that may lead to health problems, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Gamboa said his order is not only geared toward erasing the perception that some policemen have excessive weight, but also for PNP personnel to practice individual responsibility for their health.

“It’s very important. We want all policemen to internalize itong BMI requirement natin (this BMI requirement),” he said.

“It’s initiated to introduce healthy lifestyle and inculcate personal responsibility on fitness. The BMI compliance is also implemented side by side with suggested diet plans,” he added.

He said his order is in line with the directive of Interior Secretary Eduardo Año, who is now supervising the police organization in the absence of a PNP chief, that all police officers should be convincing “messengers of what the PNP should be.”

This is not the first time the police force has sought to trim the waist of its overweight policemen.

The initiative was first instituted by Sen. Panfilo Lacson when he was chief of the PNP, during which he required policemen to have 86.4-centimeter waistlines.

In 2017, despite his own battle with the bulge, Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa when he was then PNP chief, also targeted overweight cops, saying “cops with bulging stomachs are proof of poor police training.”