The Philippine National Police (PNP) is looking for 50,000 new officers.
PNP Director General Nicanor A. Bartolome said the PNP was in need of more police officers to augment the 140,000-strong police force, if it is to keep the peace among the almost 100 million Filipinos.
The country’s top cop made the rounds of television and radio stations on Friday in an apparent attempt to calm public outrage over recent sensational crimes in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.
In one interview over radio, Bartolome admitted that the PNP was direly undermanned, even as some 6,000 new recruits are expected to join its roster in November.
But some 3,000 other police officers are also leaving the service either to retire or resign or upon dismissal, he said.
“This means that of the 6,000 new officers, only 3,000 are effectively added to the force because the others just fill the slots that are left vacant,” said Bartolome.
At present, the police to population ratio stands at one officer for every 743 persons, which is way below the ideal of 1:500 ratio, according to the PNP.
In fact, Bartolome added, police officers work in 12-hour shifts, instead of the usual eight hours.
“We don’t even ask for overtime pay anymore, even though we’re under civil service rules,” he said.
In another interview, Bartolome noted that the crime rate and incidence had gone down in the first eight months of the year, compared to the same period last year.