PNP lacks 500 police stations nationwide

DAVAO CITY — The Philippine National Police (PNP) lacks 500 police stations, PNP spokesman Senior Superintendent Leopoldo Bataoil said yesterday.

He added that many police headquarters face eviction from the buildings they are temporarily occupying.

"We still lack 500 police stations because most of them are located within buildings owned by local government units (LGUs) or barangay halls," Bataoil said. "Nakikitira lang ang police (The police are just sharing quarters)."

The PNP reportedly has 1,530 municipal police precincts and 15 city police precincts.

In most cases, the LGUs concerned have been asking the PNP leadership to construct their own buildings because notices of eviction have been served to a number of police stations.

Bataoil said PNP chief Director General Arturo Lomibao has vowed to build an additional 100 police stations nationwide before his term ends next year. He added that he is hopeful that Lomibao’s successors will continue this practice and build at least 100 each during their terms until the 500-station shortfall is met.

Lomibao yesterday visited police units in Compostela Valley, where he also led the groundbreaking rites for a number of police station buildings in the province, known to be a stronghold of communist insurgents in Mindanao.

The needs of the 115,000-strong PNP do not end with the shortage of buildings, however.

The country’s police force also needs vehicles to provide police officers with mobility. To date only 33 percent of the country’s police force is mobile, leaving a vehicle shortage of 67 percent. The PNP also needs 65 percent more watercraft and 88 percent more aircraft.

The country’s police officers also need guns — 17 percent more sidearm pistols and 43 percent more long firearms.

There is also a dearth of handheld radios, which 77 percent of police officers lack, while 71 percent reportedly have no mobile radios and 38 percent of police offices lack base radios.

Bataoil said the PNP also lacks police investigation equipment. It needs 1,149 cameras, 318 metal detectors, 291 evidence collection kits, 626 security lines, 554 investigative kits and 39 traffic accident kits.

He said the PNP cannot do much, considering that it is operating on a reenacted budget of P35.196 billion because 90.87 percent or P31.98 billion of this budget is earmarked for operations and 8.99 percent or P3.16 billion goes to salaries, leaving only a minuscule 0.14 percent or P50 million for capital outlay.

"This is what we lack, but we still believe that the PNP is performing way above or more than what is expected of that budget," Bataoil said. — Edith Regalado