Senate bill seeks annual psychiatric, drug tests for cops
PNP Chief Police General Debold Sinas officially confers the promotion to police personnel stationed at the PNP National Headquarters in Camp Crame on January 16. (PNP PIO)
MANILA, Philippines — Police officers would be required to undergo annual psychiatric, psychological, drug and physical tests once a measure filed by Senator Imee Marcos becomes a law.
The amended Republic Act No. 6975 or the “Department of the Interior and Local Government Act” already requires the conduct of regular psychiatric, psychological, drug and physical tests of our police officers.
“However, at present, these are only given during recruitment, promotion, and when directed by a supervisor,” Marcos said in explaining Senate Bill No. 2005 she recently filed. The bill seeks to further amend the law.
“In an effort to ensure the mental and psychological well-being of our police officers, this bill seeks to make mandatory the conduct of their annual psychiatric, psychological drug and physical tests as well as to undergo stress debriefing programs for those whose operational work necessarily expose them to traumatic situations,” she also said.
In her explanatory note in the bill, Marcos specifically cited the case of Senior Master Sergeant Jonel Nuezca, who shot dead a mother and her son in Tarlac last month after a heated argument.
Nuezca was off-duty at that time and had least six administrative cases prior to the said incident, two of which involved grave misconduct involving homicide, the senator noted.
He is now facing murder charges in court.
“This, together with several other police-related crimes in the recent years, caused fear, shock, and anger among the populace, besmirching the image of the Philippine National Police (PNP) as the protector of the people,” Marcos said.
“While these may be considered as isolated cases perpetrated by police officers, it pressed a serious issue on the procedure being implemented by the PNP to ensure and promote the psychiatric and psychological fitness of its officers and members,” she further said.
