MANILA, Philippines — Police officers who are overweight must shed pounds within a year; otherwise, they'll be removed from the Philippine National Police.
Chief of Police General Nicolas Torre III issued this warning yesterday while emphasizing his commitment to enforcing strict physical fitness requirements within their organization.
“Following a year, there will be a disconnection from the service,” Torre stated via dzBB.
He referred to Republic Act 6975, also known as the Department of the Interior and Local Government Act, which specified that police officers should have a weight that does not exceed nor fall short of five kilograms from the standard weight corresponding to their height, age, and gender.
For individuals with health issues, Torre mentioned they are considering two possibilities — either granting total disability discharge or moving them to administrative tasks.
He mentioned that they will seek guidance from the National Police Commission regarding how to handle law enforcement personnel who have health issues.
One of Torre’s objectives upon becoming the 31st chief of the police force was to focus on losing weight, encompassing all ranks from high-ranking officers to the most junior patrol personnel.
Earlier, PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo stated that Torre’s directive stems from his conviction that physically capable police officers demonstrate discipline within the police force.
“Every police officer must ensure their physical appearance meets the standards expected of a law enforcement officer,” Fajardo stated.
Fajardo stated that law enforcement personnel ought to begin examining their body mass index, calculated by dividing an individual’s weight in kilograms by the square of their height in meters.
She mentioned that Torre is allowing police officers to decide on the exercises they will do to shed pounds, taking into account the health issues faced by some of these officers.
"The directive doesn’t specify how you will lose weight, although we will certainly take that into account," Fajardo stated.
More heads will roll
Following the removal of eight metropolitan police chiefs in Manila, Torre cautioned that other commanding officers would face similar consequences if they failed to adhere to his five-minute response time directive.
Torre mentioned that he had already addressed the issue with two provincial directors who did not adhere to his five-minute guideline for addressing peace and order issues. He has also announced that these positions are now open for new applications.
"So if we manage to select replacements, we will ease the burden of the currently serving officials and substitute them with fresh faces," Torre informed journalists.
Torre chose not to reveal the provinces where the two police chiefs serve, emphasizing that he does not make it a practice to publicly shame errant PNP officers.
"They will get an opportunity to catch up and perhaps await another chance to be granted a commanding role," he stated.
Earlier, Torre mentioned that he had criticized three provincial directors from Western Visayas, Central Visayas, and Negros for not meeting the five-minute response time during simulation drills. — Alexis Romero