OFFICERS and men of the 232,000-strong police force have welcomed changes in their flag-raising and flag-retreat ceremonies as ordered by their new chief, General Rommel Marbil.

“Thank God as we have long been fooling ourselves with those very long ceremonies marking our flag-raising and flag-retreat,” one senior official told me as Camp Crame on Monday started its new flag-raising rites which is over in eight minutes.

I was there when the event started at 7:30 in the morning and ended up exactly at 7:38 a.m. I think it is also time for other government agencies to shorten their flag-raising ceremonies and let our public workers start their job exactly at 8 in the morning.

In covering the police force since 1990, I have been witness to countless flag-raising ceremonies which have lasted for two hours or more. The average is an hour with past complaints that even prayers have been very long that they seem to be welcome remarks too.

On Monday, the 30th PNP chief called anew on his men to give the Filipino people the best service they can get from the force amid their shortened flag-raising rites.

Believe me when I say that Gen. Marbil became the very 1st PNP chief to have a very short message to his men during a flag-raising rite. In his very brief message, the top cop said he believes that there are really two gifts from God which should be taken advantage of by the police.

“It’s the choice to do good and the chance to make a difference so let us give them (people) a better service, let’s give the community the best service we can give them,” Gen. Marbil said.

The PNP chief has ordered the shortening of the Monday program to enable his men to serve their clientele at 8 in the morning. I am referring to clients of the One-Stop Shop of the PNP Civil Security Group which caters to applicants for License to Own and Possess Firearms and Firearm Registration as well as security guard licenses , the Motor Vehicle Clearance Division of the Highway Patrol Group and other offices inside the camp.

Just imagine the trouble you bring to a Filipino who wakes up at 5 in the morning just to be inside Camp Crame by 7 a.m. to apply for a drug or a neuro-psychiatric test, get an HPG motor vehicle clearance or other PNP requirements only to find out that work in these offices will start past 9 or 10 in the morning because of the very long flag-raising rites.

Last Monday’s flag-raising rites started exactly at 7:30 a.m. and ended eight minutes later. It began with the singing of the National Anthem followed by a morning prayer, the recitation of the Panunumpa sa Watawat and the Officer’s Creed, the PNP chief’s message and last but not the least, the singing of the PNP Hymn.

Before, regular flag-raising rites usually ends up in one hour or much longer due to ‘very long speeches’ of officials and guests of honors plus the awarding of PNP personnel and the traditional parade.

Last Friday’s flag retreat was also very short minus the parade. It’s also high time for the PNP to really stick to the old rules when it comes to giving honors and parade to its guests of honor and other visitors.

Just follow the Armed Forces’ policy on the matter and refrain from giving battalion-size honors to personalities who are not included in the list of persons to be given honors just to make ‘sipsip’ to them. Imagine a comment from an officer who was laughing when a ‘rotarian’ was given such an honor at Camp Crame when he was not supposed to get that.

Other officers say that in other countries, their flags are not raised or lowered everyday or every Friday unlike in our country which however is governed by Republic Act No. 8491 or the Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines.

I am an advocate of loyalty and patriotism as well and reverence and respect to the flag, the national anthem and our heroes. However, I really don’t like the idea of having time-consuming efforts to lower and raise the flag everyday.

What we need is to permanently hoist the colors in designated areas and ensure that they are properly illuminated at night, that worn-out and tattered flags are immediately replaced and the old ones burned in solemn ceremonies.

The flag-raising ceremony, as the heraldic code says should be simple and dignified and minus all those really long speeches, presentations and parades just like in the past.