THE Davao City Police Office (DCPO) said 57 percent of its personnel did not reach their ideal body mass index (BMI) and so will be required to lose two kilograms of weight every month until they have reached their ideal BMI.
DCPO spokesperson Police Captain Rose Aguilar said out of the 1,981 policemen in Davao City, only 43 percent or 847 cops have an acceptable BMI, while most of them are overweight and a small portion is either pregnant or underweight.
BMI refers to a person's weight divided by the square of his/her height. A high BMI can indicate high body fatness.
On January 21, the DCPO launched a fitness initiative program dubbed as "Sabayang Takbo para sa BMI - Buluhatong Makapayat na Inisyatibo" held at the DCPO headquarters. The program aims to address the issue of overweight cops in accordance with the directive of Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Lieutenant General Archie Gamboa.
Gamboa warned the police officers that he would deny policemen's "schooling" if they are unable to meet their ideal BMI.
Schooling is a prerequisite for career advancement and promotion in the police organization.
The fitness policy aims to reduce the number of overweight cops to effectively perform their duties. The policy covers all ranks.
Aguilar admitted that losing weight will be a challenge especially for the lady cops who have just given birth. But then, she assured that they will participate in this program.
"Ang mando man gud kinahanglan naay duha ka kilos nga maos-os sa mga overweight kada bulan (The order is that there should be at least two kilos of weight to lose every month]," Aguilar said.
By the end of the month, they will conduct another monitoring to assess the weight of their personnel especially those who are listed as obese 1 and 2.
She said that since it was a month-long holiday last December, most of the cops have gained weight.
They are exploring other methods or physical activities that will help in achieving the ideal weight, such as Zumba, among others.
Every Tuesday and Thursday of the week will be their schedule for the physical exercise but Aguilar emphasized to the cops that losing weight is an individual duty. They could still take their own initiative to lose extra weight.