THE Police Regional Office Cordillera (PRO-COR) welcomed the transfer of training and supervision of the Philippine National Police (PNP).
President Rodrigo Duterte recently signed Republic Act (RA) 11279 on April 12 and was released on May 23 transferring the control and supervision of the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) and the National Police Training Institute (NPTI) to the PNP from the Philippine Public Safety College (PPSC).
Benguet Provincial Police Office (BPPO) Director Police Colonel Lyndon Mencio, a graduate of PNPA, explained this development is welcome measure since the training and supervision now would be done by police officials.
“Just like in the case of the Philippine National Police Academy, this move is timely since the best trainers and supervisors must come from active and even retired police officials who have underwent various police trainings, schooling programs, and field experiences which are vital for the training of our future Police Officers which will come from the PNPA as patterned under the Philippine Military Academy,” Mencio said.
About 120 days after the law’s effectivity, the PNP chief is mandated to submit a revised table of organization and equipment and staffing pattern of the PNPA and the NPTI to the National Police Commission (Napolcom) and the Department of Budget and Management for approval.
The revised table of organization and equipment and staffing pattern may include the reorganization and renaming of existing PNP training offices and units, and the realignment of functions, as may be necessary.
“Although the transfer of training and supervision would now come from the active police service commands, we still need representatives from the academe and even specialized education programs coming from other sectors to broaden the knowledge of our future police officers and even the non-commissioned police personnel,” Mencio added.
Under RA 11279, PNPA will serve as the premier institution for police education, and the primary source of police lieutenants, while the NPTI will be responsible for the mandatory and leadership trainings of all police non-commissioned officers.
The new law also establishes the PPSC as a premier educational institution for the training, human resource development and continuing education of all personnel of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) and Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).
The PPSC, which will be under the direct supervision of a Board of Trustees composed of the Secretary and the three bureau heads, will also act as provider of select mandatory career courses for police commissioned officers and specialized courses for personnel of the PNP.
Consisting the PPSC will be the National Fire Training Institute, the National Police College, the National Forensic Science Training Institute, the National Jail Management and Penology Training Institute, and other special training centers that may be created.
For a period of five years from the effectivity of the Act, the PNPA will continue to accommodate cadets for the BJMP and the BFP, provided that this period may be extended by the PNP upon the request of the BJMP and BFP in case the PPSC is still unable to provide the education and training required by the two bureaus.
The law also authorizes the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), in consultation with the PPSC, to create a separate academy for the BJMP and BFP to allow police graduates from the PNPA to exclusively join the PNP.
RA 11279 directs the PNP, PPSC, PNPA, and NPTI to jointly conduct an inventory of all the properties, facilities, records, equipment, funds, appropriations, rights, functions, liabilities and other assets of the PNPA and NPTI prior to their complete transfer to the PNP.
The DILG Secretary and ex-officio chairman of the Napolcom are ordered to formulate and implement a five-year transition plan to ensure the smooth transfer of the PNPA and NPTI to the PNP.
The funds necessary for the initial implementation of RA 11279 will be taken from the PNPA and NPTI’s current year’s appropriations. Thereafter, such amount as may be necessary for its continued implementation will be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.