DILG Eyes 25,000 New Cops by 2010

October 11, 2009

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) aims to hire at least 25,000 new policemen by 2010 to strengthen the capability of the Philippine National Police (PNP) in maintaining peace and order.

DILG Secretary Ronnie Puno said that since he assumed the top post at the Department in 2006, the PNP was able to increase the number of its uniformed personnel by more than 15,000 as of this year.

“We will be hiring another 10,000 by 2010,” Puno, who also chairs the National Police Commission (Napolcom), said. “So that would be 25,000 new cops in four years.”

He made this announcement during a recent dialogue in Zamboanga Del Sur with the rank and file of the DILG, PNP and Bureaus of Fire Protection (BFP) and of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) in the region.

On Puno’s watch, the DILG budget went up by 44% from P43.681 billion in 2006 to P62.937 billion in 2009.

The budget increase has enabled the DILG to hire more policemen and public safety officers, procure additional equipment to better maintain peace and order, and increase the salaries and pensions of its rank-and-file.  

From P35.196 billion in Jan. 2006, or before Puno took over as DILG chief, the budget of the PNP increased 34.3% to P47.268 billion in 2009; the appropriations for the BFP rose from P3.66 billion to P6,824 billion, representing an 86.1% jump; while that of the BJMP rose even higher by 86.6% from P2.246 billion to P4.192 billion.
 
The PNP has been recruiting an average of 3,000 new policemen and policewomen each year since Puno was reappointed DILG secretary in 2006.   

From 111,638 policemen in 2006, the number of PNP uniformed personnel will increase to 127,234 in 2009, or an addition of 15,596 more police officers to help maintain peace and order, while fire officers numbering 14,376 will rise to 15,648 this year.  

The number of jail officers to secure the country’s district, municipal and city jails will increase from 7,399 in 2006 to 8,899 this year.  

In terms of logistics, the PNP was able to procure 2,445 additional patrol cars and 28 patrol boats to increase its mobility and visibility, while the BFP was able to beef up its fleet to 1,790 fire trucks this year to help improve its firefighting capability.  

In the BJMP, the number of prisoner vans increased 158% from 134 in 2006 to 346 this year.  

As for pay increases, a Local Government Operations Officer V in the DILG who was receiving a basic salary of P17,799 in 2006  is now getting P25,295, which means a 42.1% hike; while entry-level  uniformed personnel (police, fire and jail officers I) are now getting  P10,808 a month, from P8,605 in 2006 representing a 25.6% increase.    

A jail or fire chief inspector with a salary of P17,246 a month got a 41% pay increase, which means he is now receiving P24,202.  

In the BFP alone, the budget for salaries and allowances increased from P3.528 billion in 2006 to P4.93 billion in 2009.  

As for pensions, a Jail or Fire Officer II (under Republic Act 1616) who was receiving P7,108 a month in pension benefits in 2006 is now getting P9,668. 

Jail and Fire Officers III who are regular pensioners were receiving P84,56 in 2006, but are now getting P11,949 a month.