SONA promises: Are our cops better off?

Bea Cupin

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

SONA promises: Are our cops better off?
Has President Aquino delivered on his promises to the Philippine National Police in his 2013 State of the Nation Address?

MANILA, Philippines – During the 113th Police Service anniversary celebration at the PNP headquarters Camp Crame on Friday, August 8, President Benigno Aquino III trumpeted improvements in the PNP’s capabilities and the well-being of its personnel.

Unhesitant to highlight the faults of leaders past, Aquino told police: “Sa mahabang panahon, ang naging siste: kayo na nga ang may mabigat na tungkulin, kayo pa ang bahalang dumiskarte para sa inyong kagamitan—na pagdating sa inyong kapakanan, parang tama ‘yong sinasabing, ‘Bahala na si Batman.’

(For the longest time this was what happened: you who already have a heavy burden were also left to fend for themselves especially when it came to equipment – when it came to your own well-being, the phrase, ‘Whatever will be,’seemed to apply to you.)

A little over a year ago, Aquino made several key promises to the PNP and other uniformed personnel in his 2013 State of the Nation Address (SONA). Some of those promises were again mentioned at the police force’s anniversary. What exactly happened between 2013’s SONA and today?

Here’s what Aquino had to say then and now:

PNP/AFP Housing

SONA 2013: Phase 2 of the PNP and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) housing project should be completed by “next month” (August 2013). As of the 2013 SONA, Aquino said “26,050 homes out of our target 31,200” were already built.

August 2014: Almost a year after the targeted completion, the housing project is 98% done. On August 8, Aquino said of the 30,558 houses completed, 14,040 would be going to PNP personnel.

He said the government would be submitting to the National Housing Authority the list of personnel who would be awarded the houses.

President Benigno S. Aquino III presides over the PNP Command Conference at the Main Conference Room of the PNP General Headquarters at Camp Crame in Quezon City on April 14, 2014. File photo by: Benhur Arcayan/Malacañang Photo Bureau

Hiring Non-Uniformed Personnel

SONA 2013: “Beginning this 2013, 30,000 policemen will finally be able go back to doing police work because we will be hiring civilian personnel who will focus on administrative work.”

August 2014: Halfway through 2014, Aquino said the PNP was “preparing to hire” the first 7,739 non-uniformed personnel (NUPs) from the targeted 30,000. This has been one of the PNP’s core goals – to put more police personnel out into the field.

The 148,000-strong PNP’s nominal police-to-population ratio stands at around 1:675, according to PNP spokesman Reuben Theodore Sindac. It’s short of the 1:500 ideal. 

PNP pensions

SONA 2013: Aquino called on Congress to review Presidential Decree 1838 and Republic Act 8551 or the Philippine National Police Reform and Reorganization Act of 1998 to “create a fair, sustainable, and clear mechanism for the pensions of the PNP and the AFP.”

August 2014: On August 8, Aquino again reiterated the need to fix the pension system for the country’s uniformed personnel, adding that it will take over P4 trillion as “seed capital” to fix the pension system. The President promised that the government would “find a solution” to the persistent problem.

According to Rappler’s research, no bills have been filed to specifically amend the PNP’s pension system as stipulated in RA 8551

A week before his 2014 SONA, the PNP expressed worry that it would not be able to access its August 2014 operational funds over a pension case filed by retired Integrated National Police (INP) personnel. More than 3,000 INP personnel have yet to receive pension differentials from 1991 to 2006, despite a ruling by the Supreme Court. 

NEW GUNS. President Benigno S. Aquino III distributes brand new Glock 17 pistols to PNP personnel in a ceremony at the PNP Multi-Purpose Center in Camp Crame, Quezon City on July 02, 2013. File photo by Benhur Arcayan/Malacañang Photo Bureau

Police to pistol ratio

SONA 2013: “We are slated to distribute a total of 74,879 firearms among our police force, in keeping with our goal of a one-is-to-one police-to-pistol ratio.”

August 2014: This is one promise that has been 100% fulfilled under Aquino, a known gun-enthusiast.

In the past, Aquino said, new personnel had to “buy the rights” to inherit the firearms of retiring cops just to arm themselves. “Kabado ka pa dahil kapag nagkaengkuwentro, hindi naman puwedeng daanin mo na lang sa pleasing personality ang masasamang elemento,” he added. (You’re nervous because if you’re in an encounter, you can’t disarm lawless elements with just your pleasing personality.)

In an interview shortly after Aquino’s 2014 SONA, Sindac told Rappler that enough firearms have already been purchased in order to meet the 1:1 cop-to-firearm ratio. He added, however, that it doesn’t automatically mean all new cops would have guns right away because of firearms auditing procedures in their respective units. – Rappler.com

Add a comment

Sort by

There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading
Download the Rappler App!
Avatar photo

author

Bea Cupin

Bea is a senior multimedia reporter who covers national politics. She's been a journalist since 2011 and has written about Congress, the national police, and the Liberal Party for Rappler.