PNP to keep plugging for shorter people to join its ranks

PNP Director General Alan Purisima: Lower minimum height INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Not the Philippine National Police (PNP), which announced that it would be lobbying for a law that would lower the minimum height requirement for police officers.

President Aquino vetoed in April a bill passed by the Senate and House of Representatives repealing the minimum height requirement for candidate police officers, firefighters and jail officers.

PNP Director General Alan Purisima said the lower minimum height requirement for police officers bill was among the four measures the police force would be lobbying for in the 16th Congress which opens today.

The bill, if signed into law, would set aside the requirement that male applicants should be at least 5 feet 4 inches tall, while female applicants, at least 5 feet 2 inches tall.

The President, who stands nearly 6 feet, insisted that police officers, firefighters and jail officers needed to be tall enough to perform their duties.

In a news conference last week, Purisima said the President must have vetoed the bill because there was no new minimum height requirement indicated.

“It was vetoed because there was no limit on how short the [candidate can be]. If there is no limit, even midgets [can apply],” Purisima said.

Last year, the Philippine Military Academy (PMA), which trains future military officers, lowered its minimum height requirement to 5 feet for both male and female candidate officers.

Previously, the PMA required male candidate officers to be at least 5 feet 4 inches tall and female candidate officers, at least 5 feet 2 inches tall.

The lowered height requirement resulted in a surge of applicants for last year’s PMA qualifying examinations.

Purisima said they would also lobby for legislation that would allow the PNP to reorganize itself as a civilian agency, with officers themselves taking over the training of candidate officers, as well as legislation that would allow non-college graduates but graduates of the new K to 12 high school curriculum to be members of police public safety battalions.

At present, the Philippine National Police Academy is run by the Philippine Public Safety College, which is composed of civilians.

Purisima said the PNP’s experienced field officers should take charge of the training of candidate officers.