PNP ready for election duty

MANILA, Philippines - With 10 months to go before the May 2013 elections, the entire police force is poised to assume election duty as deputies of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), a police official said yesterday.

“In the next couple of months, we shall be switching to election mode when the election period shall officially commence in January 2013,” Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Nicanor Bartolome told police troops who took oath after being promoted to the next rank.

Bartolome said he approved the promotion of 9,706 police personnel under the Regular Promotion Program for 2012 to inspire them to perform better.

PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Generoso Cruz Jr. said similar ceremonies were held in the 17 Police Regional Offices for 8,704 personnel assigned in the regional offices.

Bartolome said the huge number of promoted police personnel translates to increased “professional aptitude and proficiency” in the police service.

The newly promoted PNP personnel include 159 police commissioned officers (PCO) with ranks of police inspector to police superintendent, and 9,547 police non-commissioned officers (PNCO) with ranks of Police Officer 2 to Senior Police Officer 4.

The 9,706 newly promoted PNP personnel are made up of 37 from the National Headquarters, 965 from the National Support Units, and 8,704 from the Police Regional Offices.

PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Generoso Cerbo Jr. said the PNCOs would be tapped to assume junior leadership roles to supervise freshly trained recruits who are expected to be on full-duty status after their basic training, in time for Comelec’s pre-election security operations early next year.

In the succeeding months, a large number of police recruits will graduate from the Police National Training Institute (PNTI) and are expected to report for duty in the Regional Public Safety Battalions (RPSB).

“The police regional offices are ready to accept these rookie policemen into their ranks, while the national headquarters is ready to provide them with mission-essential individual equipment, including service side arms,” Cerbo said.