Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benjamin ‘Benhur’ Abalos Jr. has sought the guidance of the Office of the President in connection with the promotion of senior officers of the Philippine National Police (PNP).

Abalos was reacting to the reports of the demoralization of PNP senior officers due to the delayed promotions, especially for the star-rank officers.

In a press briefing on Monday, Sept. 18, Abalos explained that the promotion system was affected by the restructuring of the PNP under the R.A. No. 85511 , which mandates the National Police Commission (Napolcom) to prepare and submit to Congress a proposed PNP reorganization plan not later than December 31, 1998.

The submitted proposals in 1998, 2008, 2009, and 2011 were not approved.

Another issue, according to Abalos, is the the rank distribution on the reorganization plan raised by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) as opposed to the actual distribution of ranks in the PNP.

He said this will be looked into.

Abalos said he already discussed the matter to House of Representatives Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez amid the ongoing deliberation on House Bill No. 8327 (An Act Restructuring the PNP).

House Bill No. 8327 passed in the Third Reading by the House of Representatives on August 2, 2023, and submitted to the Senate on August 3, 2023.

"We will now seek guidance from the office, we wrote a letter for an official opinion and we will continue pushing for the passage of the law. While waiting for the passage of the law, I also wrote to proper authorities to get their legal opinion," said Abalos.

He vowed to immediately sign the necessary documents in order to address the concerns of PNP officials.

Abalos could not say how many senior PNP officials were affected but he said the issue pertaining to the rank of Police Colonel down to Police Corporal has already been resolved.