PNP to consider bone structure in enforcing weight limit rule – Torre

Philippine National Police Chief Gen. Nicolas Torre III. File photo. Lyn Rillon

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police (PNP) will consider the large bone structure of its personnel when implementing weight limits, PNP Chief Gen. Nicolas Torre III said.

This clarification was made in response to worries about whether the weight requirement for police officers was discriminatory toward individuals with large bone structures.

“Everyone is accommodated there… That’s why you can’t say someone is overweight because they have big bones. If you have big bones, that will be considered by the standard because there’s a medical basis that will be done,” Torre said in an interview over DZMM on Wednesday.

“Only overweight police officers who don’t exercise will really be affected,” he added.

To demonstrate that police officers are fit for duty, Torre has ordered the retraining of personnel who fail the agency’s physical fitness test twice, PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo said in a briefing last Tuesday.

Legal basis

Torre cited Republic Act No. 6975, or the Department of the Interior and Local Government Act, which reorganized the PNP.

Section 30, Paragraph I of RA 6975 provides that an individual “must [weigh] not more or less than five kilograms of the standard weight corresponding to his or her height, age, and sex” to qualify for entry into the PNP.

He also cited Section 14 of RA 8551 or the PNP Reform and Reorganization Act, which says qualifications like the weight limit “shall be continuing in character and an absence of any one of them at any given time shall be a ground for separation or retirement from the service.”

When asked about the timeframe for compliance, Torre said, “They basically have a year to have a chance to comply and return to the standard.”

READ: Torre orders cops to have physical fitness program, ‘no mercy’ for testers

He also previously said he ordered the agency’s mobile force personnel to undergo a physical fitness program./mcm/abc