(UPDATE) INTERIOR and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla on Tuesday said that trimming down the number of generals in the “top-heavy” Philippine National Police (PNP) is one of the recommendations he made to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as part of his “four-month process” to reorganize the police force.
The chief executive, Remulla noted, was “very accepting” of the idea.
“The reforms are recommended four months from now. We’re working together with the UP College of Public Administration to get complete details on how we can reform it, especially the structure because the PNP is top-heavy now,” he said at a Palace briefing.
“I think we have 133 generals. I think I want it whittled down to 25 to flatten the organization. So, those are some of the recommendations that we’re going to make,” he added.
”There are a lot of generals without commands. We have APC [armored personnel carrier] — area police commands, and there are no personnel below them. So, we have many redundancies we need to trim down. It’s a 32-year-old law we need to revisit again,” he said.
The official, however, was quick to clarify that they will not demote star-rank officers and will just “let them retire.”
“Flattening” the hierarchy of the PNP, as well as other reforms being planned for the organization, would require amending laws such as Republic Act 6975 (Department of the Interior and Local Government Act of 1990) and Republic Act 8551 (Philippine National Police Reform and Reorganization Act of 1998).
Remulla vowed that he would work closely not just with Malacañang but also with both houses of Congress regarding his recommendations.
He had said that one of his priorities is to turn the PNP into a more cohesive and effective police force.
This, however, will pose his biggest challenge as DILG chief, not just because of legal impediments but also because “there is also a lot of competition and politics inside” that need to be addressed.
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