MANILA, Philippines — Santa Rosa City Rep. Dan Fernandez has disputed Vice President Sara Duterte’s claims that the police-to-people ratio cannot be solved within the near future, noting that the Philippine National Police (PNP) strength is already near the ideal number.
Fernandez, in a press briefing at the Batasang Pambansa complex on Wednesday, explained that the country currently has a one to 507 police-to-people ratio if the Philippines’ current population of around 115 million is divided against the 228,000 police personnel.
The ideal ratio, the lawmaker said, is one cop per 500 individuals.
“I beg to disagree that the ideal ratio has not already been achieved by the PNP. We have like 115 million Filipinos and the ideal ratio is 1:500, one policeman to 500 people, and if you will divide the 115 million against 228,000 police officers across the Philippines, we already have a ratio of 1:507 — and having said that, we have achieved already the ideal ratio,” Fernandez said.
“I beg to disagree (with her) because we have almost reached the ideal ratio of 1:500,” he added.
According to Fernandez, who heads the House of Representatives’ committee on public order and safety, the strength of the police force is set to increase further with 10,000 new recruits expected in 2025.
“And as a matter of fact, this 2025, we will increase another 10,000 na mga recruitment of new police officers,” he said.
Fernandez’s comments came after Duterte said on Wednesday that the issue of police-to-population ratio in the country can not be solved “during our lifetime.”
The Vice President said this still in response to claims by the PNP leadership, particularly police chief Gen. Rommel Marbil, that the reassignment of 75 police officers attached to her security detail was borne out of a shortage of cops in Metro Manila.
“The shortage is a figure that cannot be solved during our lifetime due to the annually ballooning population and lack of budgetary resources to hire more personnel,” Duterte said in a statement.
According to Duterte, lawmakers who justified the removal of her police personnel did not understand the “real cause” of the shortage in the country.
“The country should have representatives who understand that, in order to fully address the shortage, there is a need to leverage available technology and leapfrog into the future where policemen are armed with the best security products that do not require their physical presence all the time,” Duterte noted.
READ: VP Duterte: PNP pulls out 75 cops assigned for my security
After the police contingent within her security detail was recalled, Duterte said it was a form of political harassment as it supposedly happened after she resigned from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s Cabinet, her comment on his third State of the Nation Address, and after a video showing Marcos allegedly using illegal drugs surfaced online.
However, Marbil said the Vice President was not singled out when police officers assigned to her were pulled out since withdrawals were also implemented for cops securing retired generals to manage personnel.
Lawmakers and personalities also called out Duterte for complaining about the recall of police officers when her entire security detail can still be considered large. Last July 30, Manila 3rd District Rep. Joel Chua said that Duterte should respect the PNP’s decision and refrain from politicizing it, noting that the number of her security staffers was only reduced and not depleted.
Former lawmaker Barry Gutierrez, who served as Office of the Vice President (OVP) spokesperson under former Vice President Leni Robredo, said that Duterte’s reduced security detail was still three times bigger than that of his then boss.
According to the 2022 Commission on Audit report on OVP, Duterte’s Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group (VPSPG) had 433 members.
On Tuesday, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said that around 400 military personnel are under Duterte’s VPSGP.
READ: 400 AFP personnel assigned to VP Duterte’s security group – spox
AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla said Duterte’s security increased due to the fact that the VPSPG is now under the Presidential Security Command.