Home>Editorial>Opinion>Putting PNP ‘house in order’ means ease of doing business with citizenry — Cascolan
Opinion

Putting PNP ‘house in order’ means ease of doing business with citizenry — Cascolan

PHILIPPINE National Police chief, General Camilo Pancratius P. Cascolan yesterday said his program to put their ‘house in order’ otherwise known as their decongestion plan will further support President Rodrigo Duterte’s advocacy on ‘ease of doing business’ with all government frontliners.

[avatar_upload /]

Since last month, the top cop has ordered the implementation of a Comprehensive PNP Master Development Plan for all police camps including their national headquarters at Camp Crame.

“As part of our first strategic thrust, we have started the process of decongesting and streamlining units and offices at the National Headquarters starting with the Directorates for Police Operations (DIPOs) relocating them to their areas of responsibility so that they will be closer to the public and provide faster and better delivery of their services,” he said.

This month, Gen. Cascolan said all DIPOs will be moving to their satellite offices pending the finalization of the Memorandum of Agreements with the donors and the establishment of their camps and facilities some of which will be done with the help of partner agencies like the Department of Public Works and Highways and local government units.

He said that the headquarters of other units like the PNP Maritime Group, Highway Patrol, Police Security and Protection Group, Special Action Force, Logistics Support Service, Training Service and Health Service will also be relocated.

“The process for their relocation are also being facilitated in close coordination with the LGUs of Cavinti, Laguna; Bamban, Tarlac; Tanza, Cavite and the Department Of Environment and Natural Resources and Bases Conversion Development Authority,” the PNP chief said.

According to Gen. Cascolan, part of the decongestion plan and in support to President Duterte’s advocacy on ‘ease of doing business’, is the relocation of frontline services from Camp Crame to Commercial Malls making them more accessible and more convenient to the public.

He cited the joint efforts of their Advisory Council, the Center for Police Strategy Management and the PNP Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management which prompted SM Super Malls president Steven Tan to allocate a space for the issuance of PNP National Clearance in their malls, initially at the SM Mall of Asia, South Mall, Bacoor City in Cavite, Cabanatuan City in Nueva Ecija an in Mexico, Pampanga.

Gen. Cascolan said negotiations are also being done for the allocation of similar space for the issuance of firearms and security guards licenses in SM Malls.

He also commended the regional directors of Police Regional Offices 1, 2 and 6: Brigadier Gens. Rodolfo S. Azurin Jr., Crizaldo O. Nieves and Rene P. Pamuspusan for immediately submitting their respective Camp Development plans including the required budgetary requirement.

The PNP chief said that the PRO1 in Ilocos-Pangasinan has done a great initiative of even commissioning the assistance of architecture and engineering students in the different colleges and universities in developing their Camp Development Plans.

He also cited the Camp Development of the PRO2 in Cagayan Valley and the Isabela Police Provincial Office which was named after their fallen classmate from Philippine Military Academy ‘Sinagtala’ Class of 1986, the late Constabulary Lieutenant Rosauro D. Toda Jr.

“For our facilities development aiming to provide more pleasing and work-conducive offices, the Directorate for Information Communications Technology Management and the Information Technology Management Service has near 100 percent completion of both the PNP One Network and the PNP Email System providing almost all PNP personnel with their official email accounts that they should use in their official transactions and communications,” he added.

Gen. Cascolan said he is bent on implementing a 9-point action agenda focused on the highly-ambitious PNP Sustainable Development Program which include transferring police units outside of Camp Crame and bringing them much closer to areas where their services are much needed by the public.

The plan includes relocating the PNP Maritime Group headquarters and their modern patrols boats to an area near the sea and the PNP Highway Patrol Group to a place where they can be immediately reached by the motorists in case of emergency or those applying for motor vehicle clearances.

According to Gen. Cascolan, he wants the continuous full implementation of the PNP Modernization Program 2030 through the PNP P.A.T.R.O.L. Plan 2030 aimed at having a highly-capable, effective and credible police force.

“We will first implement this plan in the National Headquarters and then to all PNP camps by decongesting and streamlining units and offices, relocating operational units closer to the public for faster and better delivery of their services,” he said.

Under the PNP Decongestion Plan, the five PNP Directorates for Integrated Police Operations and the PNP Maritime Group, Highway Patrol Group, Police Security and Protection Group, Logistics Support Service, Explosives and Ordnance Division/K-9 Unit, Training Service and Health Service which are all holding office in Camp Crame will be transferred to other locations in order to provide a more efficient service to their internal and external clients.

The plan also includes the decentralization of the PNP One-Stop Shop, the Firearms and Explosives Office, Supervisory Office for Security and Investigation Agencies, Directorate for Intelligence Clearance Division, the National Police Clearance office and the PNP-HPG Motor Vehicle Clearance Division.

The PNP Special Action Force headquarters will also be relocated under the plan. At present, the PNP-SAF’s headquarters is located at the National Capital Region Police Office headquarters in Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan, Taguig City.

The transfer of the five DIPOs and national operational and administrative support units to other locations outside of Camp Crame will also address the problem of lack of parking spaces in the national headquarters and at the same time minimize the number of people which adds up to security problems during the ‘New Normal’ triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.