As Speaker vows to work for more benefits for cadets

SPEAKER Martin G. Romualdez on Monday morning vowed support for the modernization of the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA), the school that produces the country’s future police officers.

Through the support of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., Romualdez also committed to work for more benefits for cadets of the PNPA, the police’s version of the military’s Philippine Military Academy (PMA).

“In an increasingly globalized, highly advanced society, there is a need to modernize the PNPA and educate our police corps with new methods, so they may have the competency and expertise to deal with criminals employing new schemes and technology in the commission of a crime,” Romualdez said.

“Sa inyo umaasa ang mga kababayan natin. Dahil sa inyo, nakakatulog sila ng mahimbing kasama ang kanilang mga pamilya,” Romualdez told PNPA cadets during their flag-raising ceremony and Distinguished Visitors Program at PNPA Grandstand of Camp General Mariano N. Castañeda in Silang, Cavite.

The Speaker said he believes that the police academy “must be given the autonomy to build infrastructure, acquire necessary equipment, and reorganize administrative structures.”

“The PNPA must also be authorized to determine exclusively its plans, policies, programs, curricula, and standards of teaching and training,” he said.

“Finally, to boost the PNPA cadets’ morale, they should be awarded with benefits in case of disability, sickness, or even death, during training,” Romualdez said.

Romualdez added that he is supporting all measures filed in the House of Representatives to upgrade and modernize the police school.

He pointed out that most of these measures aim to strengthen the PNPA and “grant the academy the right to determine its own policies, plans and programs, academic and otherwise, without any control, pressure, or influence.”

“These measures are almost unanimous in their desire to establish a PNPA corps of professors and instructors, and to create a system of faculty, placement, promotion and development,” he said.

Most of the bills also seek to classify PNPA cadets as state scholars and treat their period of cadetship as part of their government service, he said.

Romualdez commended the leadership of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the PNP for “doing a good job in booting out of service a few bad eggs in the police force.”

“Please continue with this noble mission and keep helping us eradicate corruption and unprofessionalism in public service. Let us all help President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. win the war against crime and illegal drugs,” he said.

The Speaker said the government is making sure that all forms of criminality are reduced through police presence and law enforcement operations.

He said Congress is allocating funds for anti-criminality intelligence, case recording and tracking, detection and investigation services, case filing and arrest, capacity building, operational readiness, and disaster and emergency response.

“We need all hands on deck. Let us all do our share in keeping our communities safe, and in making sure that every Filipino family is free from danger and harm,” he stressed

“If the PNP will succeed in hiring that many personnel, it will be the biggest in years,” he said.

He said the recruitment of the new policemen would bring to 227,410 the total number of uniformed PNP personnel.

The House leader expressed hope that the additional policemen and other officers would be “out there in the streets to keep our communities safe and secured, not in offices, but out in the streets.”

“Kailangan po natin ang pulis sa mga komunidad para pangalagaan ang kapayapaan at kaligtasan,” he said.

Other officials who attended the program included Rep. Roy Loyola of Cavite and PNPA officers led by Brig. Gen. Eric Noble, the academy’s acting director.