MANILA, Philippines – Newly minted Interior Secretary Juanito Victor “Jonvic” Remulla has recommended to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to trim down the number of Philippine National Police generals from 133 to 25.
During a press briefing on Tuesday, October 22, Remulla said the PNP is “top-heavy” and in need of streamlining to “flatten the administration.”
“There are a lot of generals now without commands if you look at it. Meron tayong area police of command na wala namang tao sa ilalim nila. Madami tayong redundancies na kailangang i-trim down,” Remulla said.
(There are a lot of generals now without commands if you look at it. We have area police commanders who don’t even have people under them. We have many redundancies that need to be trimmed down.)
Under Remulla’s proposed policy, those affected will be encouraged to take early retirement by next year.
When asked if the move might demoralize personnel, Remulla said: “They are all soldiers. They follow orders.”
He pointed to the Civil Service rules requiring promotion every three years, contributing to the “top-heavy” structure. To address this, Remulla proposed extending the promotion timeline to every five years to slow down career progression in the PNP.
– Rappler.com