Senate bill seeks annual psychiatric, drug tests for cops

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.