Believing that “it will do more harm than good,” Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Silvestre Bello III has rejected the request of the Philippine National Police (PNP) to make the national police clearance (NPC) a requirement in the agency’s various transactions.
In a letter to PNP Chief Debold Sinas dated May 4, Bello explained why he had to turn the request down despite its good intentions.
"While good-intentioned, requiring DOLE’s clientele to secure NPC to avail of our services will do more harm than good," Bello said.
“It’s a form of red tape to all and an additional financial burden to many,” the secretary noted.
Sinas had earlier penned a letter to Bello asking to make the NPC a requirement in DOLE-related dealings. NPC is a database aimed at streamlining the issuance of police clearances across the country.
But Bello pointed to the results of a recent survey among the labor department's stakeholders, wherein 94 percent of the employers and workers said they were not in favor of making the NPC a requirement to DOLE transactions.
Another important reason to decline the request, he said, is the NPC's not being aligned with President Duterte's policy as embodied in Republic Act (RA) No. 11032 or the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2019, and Executive Order No. 129.
“It may even violate pertinent provisions of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, Labor Code of the Philippines, as renumbered, and other existing legislations,” the secretary said.
Despite his decision, Bello lauded the PNP for finding ways to promote public safety saying, “We are with the PNP in building a safer place for our people. However, we can achieve this without adding burden to the transacting public and the people we serve.”