WITH its launching of a pro-poor program, the Philippine National Police (PNP) has given President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration a “much-needed boost” in the eyes of the working class.
The working class, acknowledged as the “creator of wealth in society,” comprises those engaged in waged or salaried labor, especially in manual-labor occupations and industrial work.
Last Friday’s launching of “PADYAKabuhayan” program at Cramp Crame in Quezon City came a few days before the retirement of PNP chief Gen. Camilo Pancratius Cascolan.
Cascolan, a member of Class 1986 of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA), is set to bow out of the service on November 10, when he reaches the compulsory retirement age of 56.
During the launching, the PNP distributed 50 bicycles, which were donated by the Japan Tobacco Company, to workers to help them cope with the impact of COVID-19 on their livelihood.
Under the program, the PNP, which is civilian in nature but national in scope, gives free bicycles to workers, enabling them to save money for their families’ food and other necessities.
Cascolan said the program demonstrates the “compassionate heart” of the police towards the Filipino workers who are already suffering from the economic impact of the crippling lockdown.
Among those who graced the event were Administrator Bernard Olalia and Deputy Administrator Esther Margaux Uson of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), respectively.
PNP Director for Police Community Relations B/General Rhodel Sermonia said the program is a new component of the Barangay COVID Defense (BACOD), an initiative that helps workers.
Like the PNP, other state offices and agencies ought to listen to the plight of the country’s working class.
