PNP mulls outsourcing hiring of cops to manning agencies

PNP Chief, Director General Alan LM Purisima. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Fed up with rogue cops involved in unlawful activities, the Philippine National Police (PNP) may turn to private manning agencies in screening new police recruits.

PNP Director General Alan Purisima said the PNP has been studying the possibility of “outsourcing” the hiring process for individuals applying for positions in the 148,000-strong police force.

Purisima disclosed the plan after six policemen were implicated in a case of “hulidap,” a Filipino slang for extortion coined from the words huli (arrest) and holdup, in Parañaque City last week.

“One of the interventions we are thinking of (to prevent this kind of incident) is outsourcing the recruitment process and the background investigation (of applicants to the PNP),” he said in a news briefing at Camp Crame last Friday.

Purisima, who vowed to pursue policy and organizational reforms in the police service when President Aquino named him the country’s top cop in December 2012, said the PNP would also implement confidence-building programs and issue individual performance cards to each PNP member.

He said this system would help police personnel understand and appreciate their respective roles in the PNP hierarchy.

“These are just some of the interventions that we are thinking of to improve the PNP and prevent misfits from joining our ranks. There are still so many things that need to be done,” the PNP chief said.

In an earlier interview, Purisima argued that the problems and structural deficiencies in the current bureaucratic process of hiring policemen only exposed them to corruption.

He noted that some applicants who failed to satisfy the requirements set by the National Police Commission bribed government officials to enter the police service.

He also emphasized the need to review and improve the training program for police recruits to better prepare them in carrying out their duties and responsibilities as law enforcers.

He said the PNP would also encourage graduates of behavioral sciences courses to join the police service, noting that PNP personnel tagged in illegal activities were “commonly graduates of only one particular course for those who want to be a policeman,” apparently referring to the Bachelor of Science in Criminology program.

“Like other organizations and institutions, the PNP has its own story to share about so-called misfits, or simply bad eggs, within its ranks. The good news is that they are few in the police service,” Purisima said.

“As PNP chief, I intend to take out these remaining few as my own share in protecting the integrity of the PNP and to send strong warning to those who would dare do wrong.”