THE Philippine National Police (PNP) said Wednesday, October 23, 2024, that it will discuss with Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jonvic Remulla their proposed changes in the organizational structure of the institution, particularly in cutting down the number of police generals.
In a press briefing held at Camp Crame, Quezon City, PNP spokesperson Brigadier General Jean Fajardo said they would present their own proposed interim organizational structure to Remulla, who earlier suggested trimming down the number of police generals to just 25.
Considering the number of vital positions in the PNP, Fajardo said bringing down the number of generals from the current 111 to just 25 may cause issues within the organization.
“These are the main components of PNP that would require further study and again the PNP, as I said is willing to sit down to consult and dialogue with the SILG so that he would see the wisdom behind the proposed interim organization of the PNP, which is aimed at really streamlining and further removing the administrative and operational capability of the PNP,” said Fajardo.
She said among the possible suggestions is to deactivate some of the PNP units, particularly the five Area Police Command (APC), which was previously called the Directorate for Integrated Police Operations.
The APCs, which were created to synchronize the operation with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) that have the same number of area commands, are headed by three-star police generals based on the existing rules of the PNP. All of its deputies are positions that require at least a one-star rank.
Under the PNP’s enabling law, Republic Act (RA) 6975, the PNP is authorized to have a total of 153 star-rank police generals.
However, there are criticisms that the law is no longer responsive to the policing needs of the current generation.
Currently, there are 111 police generals and all of them are holding positions that require one-star to three-star ranks based on the existing organizational structure of the PNP.
The highest-ranking position in the police organization, the chief PNP, is a four-star rank, while the three other positions in the Command Group, composed of the top four positions in the organization, require a three-star rank.
Each of the 11 directorates of the PNP is led by two-star generals. This does not include the head of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, which is also a two-star position.
Fajardo said another factor that must also be considered is the significant increase in the number of PNP personnel, which is part of the efforts to meet the international standard in policing that requires a 1:500 police-to-population ratio.
As of 2020, the PNP has around 230,000 members, and the population of the Philippines is 109 million.
On Tuesday, Remulla said the planned PNP reorganization was among the topics discussed during a sectoral meeting presided over by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in Malacañang.
The new DILG chief said reforming the "top heavy" police force would be among his priorities.
PNP chief Police General Rommel Marbil earlier appealed to lawmakers to amend RA 6975 to address the organizational flaws and align with the latest global trends in law enforcement. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)