MANILA, Philippines — The national police on Monday unveiled a new fitness program to promote physical and wellness activities as part of the new normal without compromising public health and safety.
In a statement, Police Gen. Camilo Cascolan, outgoing PNP chief, said the health-centered scheme, dubbed PNP Fitness Interval Time or PNP-FIT, would involve a combination of various stretching exercises or basic movements.
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“This program solely aims to reduce the adverse quarantine effects brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, especially on our body,” he said.
Earlier in January, the PNP found that only 54% of police officers while almost half of the country’s police force were listed as overweight and obese.
This prompted then-PNP chief Archie Gamboa to initiate a campaign against overweight cops that strictly enforced body mass index standards within the agency.
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According to Cascolan, the new program consists of "1-minute modified physical exercises or 1MPE which will be performed daily at 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM, and another 4-minute modified physical exercises (4MPE) which will be performed every Tuesdays and Thursdays at 3:30 PM at any designated area of each office or unit."
These exercises will accelerate the body's heart rate, jump-start the body's metabolism, improve blood circulation, develop muscle strength, boost endurance, and increase balance and flexibility.
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“This new health program is geared towards the promotion of normalization of physical activities of PNP personnel without compromising the health protocols being prescribed by the Inter-Agency Task Force under the new normal,” Cascolan added.
— Franco Luna