Metro cops’ work shift to be cut from 12 hours to 8

National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief, Director Camilo Cascolan—Jeannette Andrade

While his predecessor often wielded the stick, the new top cop of Metro Manila seems to prefer the carrot approach.

After the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections on May 14, policemen assigned to the metropolis will start working eight-hour shifts — a significant cut from the current 12 hours, according to the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief, Director Camilo Cascolan.

In an Inquirer interview on Thursday, Cascolan said the shorter work hours were aimed at making the police “more effective and efficient.”

“They’ll also be able to get better rest. We know that a cop can’t last eight hours patrolling,” he added.

First implemented in QCPD

Cascolan said the current 12-hour work period had proven to be exhausting, the reason why many policemen sometimes “rest” in the middle of their shift.

According to the NCRPO chief, the eight-hour shift was already implemented at the Quezon City Police District’s Batasan station in the last week of April.

Other police stations in Metro Manila will follow suit after the May 14 barangay and SK elections, he added.

The move appears to be part of Cascolan’s effort to lift police morale. Recently, he ordered Metro Manila’s district directors to draft a list of officers who could be cited for “good, small deeds.”

“For example, on Facebook, there was a policeman who gave food to beggars he encountered on the street. Deeds like that,” he then explained.