PNP chief expediting promotion of 40,000 cops

After reprimanding several policemen for sleeping on the job, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Deputy Director General Edgar Aglipay is now working for the approval of the regular promotion of some 40,000 personnel which have been pending for several years.

Aglipay, who has been pushing policemen on the beat to be more efficient, said the move is part of the leadership’s bid to boost the morale of the 115,000-strong police force and complement the campaign to increase police visibility.

Aglipay said he has urged the Directorate for Personnel and Resource Management (DPRM) and the National Police Commission (Napolcom) to speed up the approval for the regular promotion in a month’s time.

The PNP chief said he is also working for the approval of spot promotions for 7,000 cops who committed meritorious acts in the line of duty.

"We want to professionalize the police force, so we must also look into their welfare. We will also be good to them and take care of them. That is why I am expediting the promotions of some 40,000 policemen," Aglipay told The STAR in an interview yesterday.

The PNP chief noted that the slow process of promotions in the police force has contributed somewhat to the officers’ lack of drive to perform well.

"If we give them what they need and what they deserve then they can do better and perform well as we expect them to be. I may have reprimand some men for not doing their job efficiently, but good cops deserve better treatment," said Aglipay, who formally assumed the top PNP post last Aug. 23.

His disciplinary and hands-on approach has kept members of the 15,000-strong National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) on their feet almost 24 hours a day as part of a 24 hours a day and seven days a week police visibility campaign.

Last Tuesday, six Metro Manila policemen were reprimanded and presented to media after Aglipay caught them napping or staying inside air-conditioned patrol cars.

Since he assumed office, Aglipay has ordered the release of a P10-million budget for the subsistence allowance of NCRPO officers, and P100,000 each for the medical reimbursements of police stations in the 87 provinces nationwide.

He also directed the PNP logistics unit to download an additional 16,000 liters of gasoline to the NCRPO for distribution to the five districts in Metro Manila.