Duterte to shoulder P25M police hospital bills monthly

Rambo Talabong

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Duterte to shoulder P25M police hospital bills monthly
(3rd UPDATE) Philippine National Police chief Director General Oscar Albayalde makes the announcement during the 117th Police Service Anniversary

MANILA, Philippines (3rd UPDATE) – President Rodrigo Duterte has pledged to give P25 million a month to the Philippine National Police (PNP) to pay for hospital bills of cops.

This was announced by no less than top cop Director General Oscar Albayalde on Wednesday, August 8, during the 117th Police Service Anniversary in Camp Crame.

Albayalde said: “I also take this opportunity today to extend the PNP’s gratitude to
the President for his recent pledge extending a P25 million monthly support to the PNP’s reimbursement of hospitalization expenses.”

Albayalde did not discuss in his speech details of how the money would be used, but he said it would be dedicated to cops who are “hospitalized.”

It was still unclear whether the donation would be from the President’s own personal account or Malacañang’s.

The donation does not come as a suprise as Duterte has a penchant for visiting policemen fallen or were injured from operations.

Why this matters: The PNP sees a lot of injured police personnel every day, given that they are the first responders in crimes and even disasters.

While the amount is dwarfed by the immense population of the 190,000-strong PNP, Albayalde said the monthly donation will go a long way for cops across the country.

“[It] will go a long way in helping ease the financial burden on the shoulders of our police personnel who are hospitalized. Napakalaking tulong po ito sa mga pulis (This is a very big help for our cops),” Albayalde said. 

Duterte’s request: In exchange, President Duterte asked cops to stay away from corruption and to serve the country “with utmost good faith.”

“Your duty and mine is to preserve the Republic, and to protect the people. Simple. And that’s all there is to it,” Duterte said.

Duterte’s call comes just a day after he lashed out at over a hundred “erring” cops in Malacañang for allegedly being involved in drugs, kidnapping, extortion, and other crimes. – Rappler.com

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Rambo Talabong

Rambo Talabong covers the House of Representatives and local governments for Rappler. Prior to this, he covered security and crime. He was named Jaime V. Ongpin Fellow in 2019 for his reporting on President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs. In 2021, he was selected as a journalism fellow by the Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics.