PNP to avoid lavish Christmas parties, spend more on typhoon relief
Philippine National Police headquarters in Camp Crame
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police (PNP) will avoid “lavish” Christmas parties for the holiday season in 2024 and channel funds into relief for typhoon-hit areas instead, Director Maj. Gen. Roderick Alba said.
On Tuesday, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. urged government agencies to avoid “lavish” Christmas celebrations “in solidarity” with Filipinos affected by the recent string of typhoons.
READ: Marcos urges gov’t agencies to avoid lavish Christmas parties this 2024
Alba, who heads the PNP Directorate for Police Community Relations (DPCR), told reporters in an interview at Camp Crame on Wednesday, “We appreciate yung instruction na yun because we are in a situation na hindi namin yun priority sa PNP.”
(We appreciate that instruction because we are in a situation where that’s not a priority at PNP.)
Article continues after this advertisement“Ever since, hindi namin priority ang celebration because while everybody is celebrating, ang PNP naman ay very busy securing the streets, the communities even on Yuletide season.”
Article continues after this advertisement(Ever since, celebration hasn’t been our priority because while everybody is celebrating, the PNP is very busy securing the streets, the communities even on Yuletide season.)
The DPCR Director said the police force would leave it up to regional directors and heads of national support units to decide what celebration would be appropriate for them but that “the instruction is very clear” not to “spend too much.”
“We’ll spend it more doon sa mga nasalanta sa bagyo. Susunod kami sa part ng PNP sa instruction,” Alba added.
(We’ll spend more time on those devastated by the typhoon. We will follow the instructions on the part of the PNP.)
Alba added that the DPCR would recalibrate their preparation for the holidays to align with Marcos’ directive and call the attention of units found holding “lavish” parties.
The appeal to refrain from costly celebrations comes in the wake of six consecutive typhoons battering the country: Super Typhoon Pepito (international name: Man-yi), Super Typhoon Ofel (Usagi), Typhoon Nika (Toraji) and Typhoon Marce (Yinxing) this November; and Typhoon Leon (Kong-rey) and Severe Tropical Storm Kristine (Trami) last October.
READ: NDRRMC: Over 1.8 million Pinoys impacted by Pepito, 2 earlier typhoons
The combined effects of Pepito, Ofel, and Nika amounted to P1.55 billion in damage to infrastructure and P8.64 million in damage to agriculture, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council’s situational report on Wednesday.
