'Housing program for AFP, PNP may be mentioned in SONA'

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Raul Bacalzo yesterday said President Aquino might mention the housing program for policemen and the military in his upcoming State of the Nation Address (SONA).

The PNP chief was referring to the recent distribution of 300 certificates of lot allocation and 30 door keys to soldiers and policemen at the AFP/PNP Heroes Ville housing project in San Jose del Monte City and Bocaue in Bulacan, Calamba City, and Rizal.

Bacalzo, however, refused to further elaborate, saying he does not want to preempt the President’s announcements in the SONA.

Bacalzo also said the PNP is finalizing the security measures to be implemented during Aquino’s second SONA on July 25.

He has ordered local police, the Intelligence Group and the Directorate for Intelligence to continue monitoring possible threats during the event.

The PNP earlier said no specific threat has been monitored weeks ahead of the SONA but police have prepared elaborate security measures.

Bacalzo ordered the creation of Super Task Force “Kapayapaan” to secure the SONA and ensure the event would be peaceful and orderly.

The PNP chief said about 1,500 policemen will be deployed in the streets, particularly in areas surrounding the Batasan complex of the House of Representatives in Quezon City.

Policemen from Central Luzon and Southern Tagalog region were also called to secure vital installations in Metro Manila during the SONA.

Combat pay increase

Bacalzo also said he is working for the increase of the combat pay of policemen to be implemented in January.

He said he has been informed that President Aquino has approved his proposal in principle.

At present, Bacalzo said policemen are receiving P340 and the proposal seeks to increase the pay by P160 a month or to P500.

The PNP chief pointed out that the police organization would not need additional budget allocation since funding for the increase will be taken from the police’s annual savings.

According to Bacalzo, the PNP has already trained 3,000 to 4,000 policemen in the fields of investigation and interoperability.