5,000 new cops join force
MANILA, Philippines—More than 5,000 fresh recruits have joined the Philippine National Police, infusing new blood into the manpower-strapped organization, officials said Wednesday.
The PNP inducted 5,321 recruits into the service to fill the requirements of its regional offices for “more warm bodies for police visibility and anti-crime operations,” PNP spokesperson Senior Superintendent Generoso Cerbo Jr. said in a statement.
Of the new police officers, 4,349 were men and 972 were women, according to Director Elpidio De Asis of the PNP’s Directorate for Personnel and Records Management.
Simultaneous oath-taking ceremonies were held in 17 regional offices across the country this week, formalizing the appointment of the new officers or Police Officer 1’s, Cerbo added. The recruitment boosts the strength of the PNP to nearly 150,000.
Officers with PO1 rank have a basic monthly salary of P14, 834 with allowances and other non-cash benefits.
PNP Director General Nicanor Bartolome said the new recruits were expected to beef up law enforcement and the public safety operations of police regional offices.
The rookies completed the PNP’s recruitment processes, including a neuro-psychiatric screening; physical, medical and dental examination; physical agility test, drug test, complete background investigation; and eligibility exams.
Upon appointment, the recruits will undergo the mandatory Public Safety Basic Recruit Course at the Police National Training Institute for six months, after which the trainees will undergo another six months of field training.
Then they are assigned to full-duty status in the Regional Public Safety Battalion of police regional offices.
Cerbo said the National Police Commission authorized the PNP to recruit 6,000 more police personnel this year as part of the 2012 Regular and Attrition Recruitment Program, leaving 679 vacancies unfilled this year.
The Attrition Recruitment Program is intended to replace the projected number of personnel who will be separated from the service due to retirement, resignation, and dismissal for cause, Cerbo said.
An average of 2,500 to 3,000 PNP members retire each year, he said.
In previous interviews, Bartolome said he hoped to move the organization closer to the ideal police-to-population ratio of 1:500, based on international standards. Before the recruitments this year, the ratio stood at 1:662.
The PNP chief said the organization would need to hire at least 50,000 more officers to do a solid job of keeping the peace among almost 100 million Filipinos.
