House Majority Leader and Leyte 1st District Rep. Martin G. Romualdez has asked Interior and Local Government Sec. Eduardo Año to ensure that the 18,279 new policemen to be recruited next year will qualify to rigid qualification standards to ensure honest and dedicated personnel for the Philippine National Police.
Romualdez said next year’s proposed budget for the Department of Interior and Local Government will have sufficient allocation for a total of 30,914 vacant positions.
Aside from the 18,279 new PNP personnel, the 2022 budget will provide the salaries for additional 1,601 civilian PNP personnel, 5,397 firemen and 4,533 jail guards.
“You are 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,” Romualdez told Año a recent courtesy call made by the DILG secretary.
“We are ready to help the PNP in its war against crime. Our only appeal, please see to it only those fit for public service, the honest and dedicated ones, make it to the police force and to the DILG,” Romualdez said.
Año was joined by Undersecretaries Epimaco Densing III and Bernardo Florece, Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, and Acting Assistant Sec. Director Sarah Jane Serezo during the courtesy call.
Romualdez noted that more than 76% of the 2022 proposed national budget of the DILG (P190.67 billion) will go to the PNP.
The Bureau of Fire and Protection (BFP) will have 10.7% share (P26.79 billion) while the other eight agencies comprise the remaining 13% share.
“This is in line with President Duterte’s directive to go all-out in the war against crime and illegal drugs. The Philippine National Police needs to intensify law enforcement operations, including military support, to fight criminality, trafficking, and terrorism,” said Romualdez.
“The government is making sure that all forms of criminality are reduced through police presence and law enforcement operations. We are also 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,” he added.