A plan to restructure the Philippine National Police (PNP) is getting closer to becoming law after passing its third reading in the House of Representatives on Wednesday.
A total of 187 lawmakers voted to approve House Bill (HB) No. 8327, which seeks to amend various sections of Republic Act (RA) No. 6975, or the Department of the Interior and Local Government Act of 1990, and RA No. 8551, or the Philippine National Police Reform and Reorganization Act of 1998.
There were no votes against the bill or abstentions.
Speaker Martin Romualdez, the bill's primary author, stated that the proposed reforms will help the PNP be more responsive in dealing with current concerns, particularly internal issues.
According to the bill, the PNP chief will have a command group composed of the offices of the PNP deputy chief for administration, the PNP deputy chief for operations, and the chief of the directorial staff.
The bill also advocates for the establishment of directorate positions for personnel and records management, intelligence, operations, logistics, plans, comptrollership, police-community relations, investigation, training, education, doctrine development, research and development, and information and communications technology management.
It recommends that the PNP head serve a four-year term and "shall be compulsorily retired at the maximum tenure in position herein prescribed, or at the age of 56, whichever is earlier.
Based on the bill, the PNP Chief will be given the rank of police general; the second in command will be given the title of deputy chief of the PNP for administration, with the rank of police lieutenant general; and the third in command will be given the title of deputy chief of the PNP for operations, with the rank of police lieutenant general.
Area Police Commands (APC) would be established in clustered police regional offices, district offices, and city police offices "to strengthen the Chief of the PNP's control."
The APC will also assist police regional offices with inter-regional anti-criminality operations and investigations.
Northern Luzon, Southern Luzon, Visayas, Eastern Mindanao, and Western Mindanao are the initial APCs. Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr., chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), has previously expressed support for the plan, stating that it will provide the police force with the tools and organization needed to successfully confront contemporary law enforcement concerns.
