Plans to boost crime response, solution

THE Philippine National Police (PNP) plans to “hire, arm and deploy” 14,208 new officers next year, joining a force whose leadership has boldly vowed to respond to distress calls within 15 minutes and solve 91 % of crimes.

If the PNP succeeds in hiring that many personnel, “it will be the biggest in years,” Deputy Speaker Ralph Recto said Monday.

This is the “surge” that can meet a crime wave, “perceived or real,” Recto said.

While index crimes went down during the pandemic, from 43,912 in 2020 to 37,842 in 2021, “there were still 22 rape cases, 14 robbery cases, 14 murder victims a day last year,” Recto said.

“Ito lang ang reported. Kasi halimbawa doon sa theft, 32 cases a day sa buong Pilipinas lang ang reported. Marami doon sa mga nahablutan ng bag o cellphone, nanakawan ng bike o manok, hindi na siguro isinumbong sa pulis,” Recto said.

Of the police officers to be recruited, 1,000 will occupy new positions created, Recto explained, while 13,208 will fill vacant positions.

The hiring will cost taxpayers P5.18 billion, “in initial salary alone, not including training and equipment,” Recto said.

If hiring targets will be achieved, the PNP will have 227,410 men and women in uniform next year, he said.

Recto backed “the hiring approach of filling all vacant positions first because there is no use in funding the creation of many new positions when these are barely filled within the fiscal year.”

According to the PNP, the new hires will bring the police officer-to-population ratio to 1 per 494.

“Pero ito ang ratio, on paper. Kasama sa bilang ang mga nasa headquarters at administrative support. Mas mababa ang bilang ng mga pulis na in any given hour ay na naka-duty,” Recto said.

This, he stressed, underscores the need for a “rightsizing exercise” that will free up many police officers from administrative work and deploy them for community policing, on the ground, where they are needed.

The PNP has a proposed budget of P191.5 billion next year, up by P801 million, “or one-half of one percent”, from this year’s P190.7 billion.

Under the PNP’s budget “Performance Indicators” for 2023, index crimes will be reduced by 5%, or to 33,793, of which 91%, up by 7% percent from the current 85.1% goal, will be solved.

To meet these goals, the PNP has promised a police response time of 15 minutes in urban areas and will send out 37.5 million foot and mobile patrols in 2023.

“Siyam sa bawat sampung krimen ang lulutasin. ‘Yan ang promissory note ng PNP. Nangako rin sila na kapag nag-S.O.S. ka sa pulis, wala pang kinse minutos, nandiyan na sila,” Recto said.