President Arroyo urged jobless college graduates yesterday to join the country’s police force as the government is hiring 6,500 policemen this year until 2008.
Mrs. Arroyo made the suggestion during her visit to the Caloocan Police Station on Samson Road, accompanied by officials led by Mayor Enrico Echiverri, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority chairman Bayani Fernando, and Northern Police District Office director Chief Superintendent Pedro Tango. Echiverri has appealed for additional law enforcers in Caloocan.
“We know that there are many college graduates without jobs. For this, we have an opening for 3,000 (policemen) for you. So if you’re a college graduate and don’t have a job, enter the police force,” Mrs. Arroyo told the officials.
She said 3,000 new policemen would be hired this year, and 3,500 next year. Mrs. Arroyo said she is allowing a higher quota for police recruitment in Caloocan.
She pointed out that under the new Philippine National Police law, a rookie cop must be a college graduate.
Mrs. Arroyo also met with officials of Barangay 73 where the police station is located.
Caloocan police chief Superintendent William Macavinta said the city has 657 policemen for a population of 1.5 million.
He said he was able to initiate a major facelift for the police headquarters using more than P2 million donated by friends and private organizations.
The hiring of the new policemen, each of whom will have the rank of Police Officer 1, is part of Mrs. Arroyo’s directive early last year calling for the recruitment of 15,000 policemen over five years. Females will make up 20 percent or 600 of the new recruits.
Cost of the first year salary, equipment and training of the rookies is expected to reach P588 million, said Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr.
“There will be 1.774 million additional Filipinos next year. So if we need one cop for every 500 persons, then we need about 3,500 new policemen a year,” he said.
The country’s population is expected to rise from 88.71 million this year to 90.48 million by end-2008.
– Paolo Romero, Jerry Botial