Tuesday, August 28, 2018

Lawmakers approve bill transferring control of four police academic institutions to PNP

The House Committee on Public Order and Safety chaired by Rep. Romeo Acop (2nd District, Antipolo City) today approved the substitute bill to House Bill 3153 authored by Rep. Gary Alejano (Magdalo Party-List) and HB 5787 authored by Rep. Leopoldo Bataoil (2nd District, Pangasinan), which seeks to transfer the administrative supervision and operational control of four police academic institutions from the Philippine Public Safety College (PPSC) to the Philippine National Police (PNP).

These are the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA), National Police Training Institute (NPTI), National Police College (NPC), and National Forensic Science Training Institute (NFSTI).

The transfer of their administrative supervision and control to the PNP shall require the amendment of Sections 24, 66 and 67 of Republic Act No. 6975 or the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Act of 1990, as amended by RA 8851.

PNP Chief Director-General Oscar Albayalde, who attended the hearing, thanked the authors of the proposal and the committee members for approving the bill despite the opposition of PPSC President Ricardo de Leon during the deliberation.

Albayalde said the PNP has earmarked P 390 million in the 2019 national budget to implement the transfer. He urged Congress to support the PNP's funding request during the budget deliberation tomorrow.

The substitute bill provides for a five-year transition period for the transfer of administrative supervision and operational control from the PSSC to the PNP, upon the effectivity of the Act.

The PNPA shall continue to accommodate cadets for the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) and the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) for their education and training.

During the transition period, the DILG, in consultation with the PPSC, shall have the authority to create a separate academy for the BJMP and the BFP.

Alejano said the current structure of having multiple offices to administer the training programs within the PNP creates lapses in coordination. In fact, he said studies conducted by the PNP Reform Commission and the United Nations Development Programme revealed that the set up is ineffective and costly.

"The current set up further makes it difficult to develop a system for a well developed plan and budget for training of the PNP," said Alejano.

Moreover, Alejano said the quality of performance of police officers who completed their training in the PPSC marred the reliability and credibility of the PPSC as a training institution.

"The ineffectiveness and inefficiency in the structure and system frequently result in unnecessary cost and waste of resources and efforts because the PNP conducts its own re-orientation and specialization training program, thus duplicating those of the PPSC," said Alejano.

Meanwhile, Bataoil said his bill calls for the transfer of administrative supervision and operational control of the PNPA and NPTI as well as the personnel and all the properties, equipment, funds, among others, to the PNP.

"It will ensure continuous appropriate training and doctrine development for the PNP, with the end in view of instilling the highest sense of police discipline, achieving the highest level of competency for its uniformed personnel and attaining the highest standard of professionalism," said Bataoil.

Aside from Acop, Bataoil, Alejano, other lawmakers who attended the hearing were Reps. Edgar Sarmiento (1st District, Samar), Gus Tambunting (1st District, Paranaque City), Arnolfo Teves, Jr. (3rd District, Negros Oriental), Henry Oaminal (2nd District, Misamis Occidental), Amado Espino, Jr. (5th District, Pangasinan), Rozzano Rufino Biazon (Lone District, Muntinlupa City), and Winston Castelo (2nd District, Quezon City). | Jojo Menorca

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