The Philippine National Police led by Chief PNP Director General Nicanor A. Bartolome expressed deep appreciation to the filing of the Senate Bill No. 3218 authored by Senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada and Senate Bill No. 268 authored by Senator Antonio F. Trillanes IV that seeks to amend certain provisions of Republic Act No. 6975 or the “Department of the Interior and Local Government Act of 1990” concerning PNP’s Human Resource Development.

According to the proposed measures, transferring the direct control of the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA), Philippine National Training Institute (PNTI) and the National Police College (NPC) from the Philippine Public Safety College (PPSC) to the PNP would be a great factor to further provide better basic training and values foundation to aspiring police officers and enhance the competencies of police officers already in the service.

On behalf of the PNP personnel, PDG Bartolome agrees with the explanatory note of Senator Trillanes on the capability of the PPSC to administer and control the training of the PNP uniformed personnel because the fact that the PPSC’s training personnel are mostly from the PNP (92=Police Commissioned Officers; 246=Police Non-Commissioned Officers; and 2=Non-Uniformed Personnel), which clearly demonstrates the PNP’s capability to conduct training for police officers.

In his letter to Senator Gregorio B. Honasan II, Chairman on Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs, PDG Bartolome assured support to the submitted bills where the PNP has adequate personnel who have vast experience and expertise which make them qualified and competent trainers.

“The training stage is a very important segment in the career of police officers. This is where the knowledge, skills, character and behaviour are being molded to prepare our personnel for the unyielding task and responsibility as professional officers. It is also a significant factor in the transformation of the PNP into a credible and effective organization worthy of the people’s trust and confidence” the Chief PNP stated.

Currently, the PNP is undergoing on its proficiency status which is the third level of certification under the Integrated Transformation Program – Performance Governance System, PNP PATROL Plan 2030, that focuses on crime prevention and control improvement and improving community safety awareness through community-oriented and human rights based policing.

The numerous administrative and criminal cases involving PNP personnel (mostly Police Officer 1 to Police Officer 3) may be attributed to poor basic training and moral values acquired by primary police recruits which affects the process and practice that the PNP uses in carrying out its mission. “Law students are trained by lawyers, medical students are trained by doctors and seminarians are trained by priests. However, PNP personnel are trained by civilians on the aspects of police discipline, basic police tactics, customs of the service and field exercises” PDG Bartolome illustrated.

Chief PNP said that other government agencies like Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) have their own academies directly under their supervision, thus, the PNP will be able to impress on its fresh recruits the vision of transforming the organization to a highly capable, efficient, and credible police service by ensuring a well-trained and disciplined rank and file.

Through the Senate Bill Nos. 3218 and 268, the PPSC will then be concentrating on providing services to the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).