PNP hires 6,400 new cops

MANILA, Philippines - At least 6,400 more policemen were added to the force of the Philippine National Police (PNP), addressing the need for more manpower.

PNP chief Director General Raul Bacalzo said the new recruits had their simultaneous oath-taking in various regional police offices all over the country, administered by the regional police directors and officials of the National Police Commission (Napolcom).

The 2011 PO1 Attrition Recruitment Program (Phase 1) got the Napolcom’s go-signal to boost the PNP’s desire to achieve a better police-to-population ratio.

Of the new recruits, Bacalzo said 5,253 were males and 1,147 were females, who would all undergo classroom training in various police training camps and another six months for field training, similar to the on-the-job training for private sector workers.

“They will be exposed to traffic operations, investigation and police patrol system in different police stations,” said PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Agrimero Cruz Jr.

The National Capital Region Police Office had the highest number of recruits with 812, while the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao got 302 and the Cordilleras, 206.

Cruz said the current police-to-population ratio is one policeman for every 743 people.

“We are confident that the new recruits will live to the standards set by the PNP in line with the PNP chief’s Eight Foundation Initiative and the PNP’s Integrated Transformation Program,” Cruz said.

The PNP plans recruit at least 8,000 new police officers this year. Yearly, it hires 3,000 policemen on top of 8,000 replacements for police personnel under attrition.