FILE PHOTO: Philippine National Police chief Gen. Dionardo Carlos. INQUIRER/NIñO JESUS ORBETA
MANILA, Philippines — Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Dionardo Carlos has promised to let police officers spend time with their families during the holidays while working at the nearest police station.
During the ceremonial lighting of Christmas lights at PNP’s headquarters in Camp Crame on Wednesday, Carlos asked the Directorate for Personnel and Records Management to find a way for commissioned and non-commissioned officers to perform their duties away from their original assignments, if needed.
“I hope si DP po ay nandito (I hope the Directorate for Personnel is here), or representative from the DP. Please plan how we can send out our personnel to spend their Christmas or New Year with their families. But at the same time — we will be near them, but we will also be protecting them,” Carlos told officers in Camp Crame.
Such a scheme, Carlos said, is no longer new as it was done during the time of former PNP chief and now Senator Ronald dela Rosa.
“Nagawa na po ito no’ng panahon ni Senator Bato dela Rosa, ang ating former chief PNP, we were sent out, we were performing our duties, extra-personnel doon po sa bayan kung saan nakatira ang ating pamilya, pwede po nating pong gawin uli ‘yan para po tayo ay uuwi pagkatapos ng ating duty, nandoon po tayo sa ating pamilya,” he said.
(We were able to do this during the time of former PNP chief and now Senator Bato dela Rosa, where we were sent out, performing our duties, extra-personnel for towns where our families reside. We can do that again so that after our duty hours, we can go home to our families.)
“At kapag kailangan naman na po tayo no’ng police station na nakaka-sakop ng ating lugar, tayo po ay kanila pong magiging extra-personnel, extra hand, extra kasama, extra po na kakampi para po mabantayan ang ating mga kababayan. So I hope we will be able to do that, let you go with your families,” he added.
(And if the police station overseeing the areas we live in needs assistance, we can help them as an extra-personnel, extra hand, extra companion and force to help secure our people. So I hope we will be able to do that, let you go with your families.)
Under dela Rosa’s term as PNP chief, the practice of not giving holiday vacations to police officers was sustained. However, cops were given the chance to report for duty in areas near their families, which would allow them to be with their loved ones after working hours.
READ: No Christmas, New Year’s Day break for policemen — Dela Rosa
Carlos led the lighting of Christmas lights in Camp Crame, which was done a little earlier than the usual mid-December activity. According to the newly-installed PNP chief, he requested the Headquarters Support Service do it a little earlier to allow the police force to feel the presence of Christmas.
He also said that it is a way to gradually move away from the horrors brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, which as of Wednesday, has claimed the lives of 125 PNP officers.
“Normally we hold it every 15th or 16th of December of the current year. However I requested our HSS […] Maraming, maraming salamat na napagbigyan niyo po ang aking request, sa totoo lang po, the very reason why I want it to be lit early is because I want us to feel it’s Christmas,” he said.
(Normally, we hold it every 15th or 16th of December of the current year. However, I requested our HSS […] Thank you very much for heeding my request because honestly, the very reason why I want it to be lit early is that I want us to feel it’s Christmas.)
“Iwanan na ho natin nang kaunti ‘yoon pong pandemya, habang tayo ay nakikita natin itong mga ilaw na ‘to, maalaala po natin ang ating pamilya, maalaala po natin ang ating mga masasayang pagsasama, at tayo po bilang isang pamilya — pamilya ng mga kapulisan — ay makita natin na tayo ay nagmamahalan, tayo ay nagtutulungan sa bawat isa,” he added.
(Let us slowly leave the time of the pandemic, that while we see these lights, we remember our families, we remember all our happy memories, and we too as a family — a family of police officers — we can see that we love each other and help one another.)