2,000 cops to undergo re-training

At least 2,000 policemen were ordered by Metro Manila police chief Deputy Director General Reynaldo Velasco to undergo a three-month re-training course starting tomorrow. Those ordered to report at the parade grounds of Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan, Taguig are policemen from the five police districts in Metro Manila, who failed or barely passed the Physical Fitness Test (PFT) last March.

The trainees will report starting 8 a.m. and are allowed to go home to their families in the evening. "They will be given the refresher courses including the proper food to eat so they would be able to pass the coming PFT," said Velasco referring to those who failed to pass the tests.

But police sources said majority of those who were ordered to undergo re-training are those who barely passed the PFT. They were suspected to have bribed their training officers for them to pass without undergoing the actual test.

Velasco ordered an investigation into the PFT mess amid reports that more than 10 percent of the 17,000-strong Metro Manila police force tallied grades of 76, 77, 78 and 79, which is only notches higher than the passing mark of 75.

A policeman from Muntinlupa City claimed he paid his training officer at the Southern Police District (SPD) the sum of P200 so he could get a passing grade without showing up for the PFT. Sources said at least eight senior superintendents and a large number of Police Officer 1 (PO1s) are among those ordered to undergo re-training at the SPD.

Additionally, Philippine National Police chief Director General Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. ordered a semestral PFT among policemen every year aimed to test the proper conditioning and stamina of the cops. Ebdane and ranking officials of the PNP, are the first to undergo the tests at Camp Crame in Quezon City.

A STAR source said Velasco had ordered a thorough probe into the irregularity as he warned that heads will roll should investigators be able to gather solid evidence against the training officers. – Non Alquitran