283 rookies join Central Luzon police

The new police officers in Central Luzon take their oath of honor at the parade ground of Camp Julian Olivas in the City of San Fernando. (Photo from the Police Regional Office 3 public information office)

MABALACAT CITY, Pampanga––Amid the heavy downpour, 283 young men and women took their oath of honor Wednesday at the parade ground of Camp Julian Olivas in the City of San Fernando as new members of the Central Luzon police.

In a statement, Police Regional Office 3 (PRO3) director Brig. Gen. Valeriano De Leon said the rookie police officers are among the first recruits under the “nameless, faceless” recruitment system implemented by national police chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar.

The new recruitment system seeks to eliminate the “corrupt practices” in the selection and hiring of new police officers by doing away with the “padrino (sponsor) system” and alleged bribery to ensure entry into the uniformed service.

Under this recruitment system, the identifies of applicants are concealed, and only their qualifications are evaluated to determine their physical and mental fitness to enter the force.

“We want to end the rotten system, where some applicants get backing from ranking PNP officials just to enter the organization. With this kind of system, there is already corruption. We don’t want these people to enter our ranks,” Eleazar said during the launch May 27 of the Comprehensive Online Recruitment Encrypting System in Camp Crame.

The new PRO3 recruits include 178 men and 105 women from Central Luzon.

De Leon said the Regional Screening Committee on Recruitment headed by Brig. Gen. Narciso Domingo chose the new police personnel through a stringent process.

He said the rookies would undergo a one-year training at the Philippine National Police Regional Training Center 3 in Magalang, Pampanga, before being given an assignment.

lzb