Lacson goes after cops'potbellies

First there was a war against organized crime groups. Now there's a war on bulging waistlines, especially if they jut out of the blue-gray uniforms of the Philippine National Police (PNP).

At a press conference yesterday, PNP chief Deputy Director General Panfilo Lacson said starting April 1, the national police will embark on a six-month physical fitness program designed to weed out police officers and men whose waistlines breach 34 inches.

Lacson said that the fitness program serves as a prelude to the full implementation of the PNP's attrition policy for police personnel who are physically unfit to perform their law enforcement duties.

The physical fitness regimen will be personally launched by Lacson at Camp Crame along with other star-ranked police officers.

Under the program, police generals will be required to perform the basic exercises such as push-ups, pull-ups, and timed jog-walk.

"Policemen will have to shape up or ship out. The program will start with the police generals down the line to show that there is no double standard," Lacson said.

According to PNP spokesman Superintendent Nicanor Bartolome, those who flunk the physical fitness and waist measurement tests to be administered by the PNP Health Service will still be allowed to stay at their present assignments and posts while undergoing the three-month long phase one of the program.

On July 1, those who still do not make the grade will be relieved of their assignments while still having to undergo the rigid fitness program for another three months.

On October 1, or after the second three-month phase, waist measurements will again be taken and a final test will be administered to determine physical fitness. Should the policeman flunk the third test, he will be booted out of the service, Bartolome said.

He added that ranking police officers who pass the physical fitness tests at Camp Crame will be ordered to oversee similar tests at the various police units and camps nationwide.

According to Bartolome, the PNP is now drafting procedures to address the attrition policy of Republic Act 8551, or the PNP Reform and Reorganization Act, concerning physical fitness requirements.

RA 8551 provides for the attrition of around 117,000 police officers and men due to health and fitness considerations.

Police personnel interviewed by The STAR, however, reacted negatively to Lacson's order, saying that waistlines should be determined by the age-height and age standards set by the Directorate for Personnel.

"The guidelines for waist measurements have to be clarified. You can be stocky but not overweight. As such, you can be stocky and have above 34-inch waistline, but this does not mean that you are physically unfit," said one officer.