NEWLY assumed Philippine National Police (PNP) chief General Nicolas Torre III has vowed to institutionalize the three-minute emergency police response time across the country in accordance with the order of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to make the public feel safe and secure.
In a press conference, Torre said along with the implementation of the three-minute police response time, a program he first implemented as director of the Quezon City Police District, is the enforcement of utilization of the 911 hotline.
“Dial 911 darating kami sa loob ng tatlong minute, yan ang gagawin natin. Gusto ko memorize ng mga bata natin yan. So kapag may nangyaring insidente huwag ka na muna maghanap ng pulis kung wala kami makitang pulis sa immediate vicinity. Tingin sa telepono dial 911 kung saan ka man nakatayo dapat may pulis na darating sa inyo sa loob ng tatlong minuto. Promise,” Torre said.
Torre noted the essence of the three-minute response time in city centers and highly urbanized areas, which have a different peace and order situation compared to rural areas.
He also committed to beefing up “quality” police presence on the streets by shortening their duty hours from the current 12 hours to eight hours.
“We'll try to see if we can if the eight hour duty is viable. Pero 'pag eight hours lang ang duty nila, I'll make sure na walang pulis na nakaupo, walang pulis na nakatingin sa kanyang cellphone at walang pulis na nagliliwaliw,” said Torre.
(We'll try to see if the eight-hour duty is viable. But if their duty is only eight hours, I'll make sure that no police officer is sitting around, no one is on their cellphone, and no one is loitering.)
“So, shorter hours pero, well, for quality. Ginawa ko na lahat sa Quezon City yan. I intend to again do it and try to study it if it can be replicated in NCR (National Capital Region) and major city centers. Yun bang mga cities that never sleep,” he added.
(So, shorter hours but focused on quality. I’ve already implemented this in Quezon City. I intend to do it again and study whether it can be replicated in the NCR and major city centers, those cities that never sleep.)
Torre also issued a firm reminder for cops not to leave those seeking help hanging and to do their best in attending to their needs.
“Hindi namin sasabihin sa kanya ‘ay hindi ho namin trabaho yan pumunta kayo sa ganitong ahensya.’ Hindi pupuwede 'yan unless na sabihin ng tao na okay na po kaya na namin pumunta doon at kami na bahala because not everything that goes to our doorsteps sa PNP ay mga police stations natin ay talagang nare-resolve or within the ambit ng PNP. Baka misinformed lang ang mga tao na pumunta roon hindi naman pala talaga trabaho ng pulis kungdi some other agencies,” Torre said.
(We won’t tell people, "That’s not our job, go to this or that agency." That’s not acceptable, unless the person says, "It’s okay, we can go there ourselves." The reality is, not everything that reaches the doorsteps of our police stations falls under the jurisdiction of the PNP. Some people might simply be misinformed and go to the police when, in fact, the matter is actually for another agency to handle.)
“In that case, ang kailangan gawin ng pulis ang pulis mismo ang maghahatid doon sa ating kliyente doon sa ahensya na makakatulong sa kanya. So hindi natin siya pinagpasa pasahan na punta kayo rito sa ganito," he added.
(In that case, the police themselves should accompany the client to the appropriate agency that can help them. We should not pass them around or simply tell them to go elsewhere.)
Torre warned police commanders that they would be removed from their posts if they failed to perform and implement his policies, which are anchored in three pillars: swift and responsive public service; unity and morale within the police ranks; and accountability and modernization. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)