Purisima to commanders: Take PNP performance program seriously

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine National Police chief Director General Alan Purisima warned yesterday all police commanders to take the PNP Patrol 2030 program seriously or face relief.

The PNP Patrol 2030 is designed to establish a capable, efficient and credible police force by 2030.

Purisima said any commander who would fail to articulate and implement the requirement set by the panel of the Performance Governance System (PGS) would face sanctions.

Under the PGS, all police regional, provincial and city commanders are required to present the status of their stations, the problems encountered, how they address them and innovative programs to bring the police closer to the people.

Last week, Purisima relieved Legazpi City police chief Superintendent Rommel dela Rama for failing to impress upon the PGS panelists that he knows his task.

“He (Dela Rama) made a presentation last month but he failed to meet the standards set by PGS. Then he was instructed to make another presentation but he again failed to convince us that he knows his job. So, he was relieved,” said Purisima.

The PNP chief warned other police commanders that they would suffer the same fate if they will not take the PNP program seriously.

Purisima noted that all police commanders should know something about police leadership while each policeman should be familiar with his job as a law enforcer whenever he is at the police station, deployed in the streets or as member of a community.

“Our goal here is to develop familiarization and expertise on every job assigned to our personnel. And it starts with teaching and ensuring that every member of the PNP knows his job description as a law enforcer,” said Purisima.

The PGS has started at the national level and is expected to reach every police station nationwide within the year.

The National Support Units of the PNP were asked to present their respective jobs and ways to further develop them.

The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) has developed online courses for its personnel to educate them about the agency’s tasks.