Senator Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa raised concerns about the issuance of the memorandum circular National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM) for the career advancement of officers in the Philippine National Police (PNP) during today's Senate budget hearing.

Dela Rosa cited a provision in the memorandum that provided that all mandatory and specialized training of police officers will not be counted towards the prescribed time for a grade requirement in a particular rank.

The former PNP chief lamented this new policy, saying it discourages police officers from taking advanced classes for career development.

“Ni-re-require pa natin ang ating mga tao na mag-schooling as a requirement for promotion. Ngayon, hindi na natin ika-count 'yung kanilang schooling sa time in grade (We even require our people to go to school as a requirement for a promotion. Now, we will no longer count their schooling towards the time in grade),” Dela Rosa remarked.

Dela Rosa pointed out that officers who have undergone specialized training might not be able to gain rank or experience during that period, based on the provisions of the memo.

“Mahirap intindihin ng ordinaryong pulis dahil first time ito nangyari... Ibig sabihin pag nag-schooling ka nang mandatory schooling or specialized schooling, parang wala kang ranggo noon kasi hindi counted 'yung panahon na ‘yun (It's hard for the ordinary police to understand, because it's the first time this has happened... That means when you undergo mandatory or specialized schooling or, it's like you didn't have a rank at the time because it was not counted)” Dela Rosa stressed.

He said the NAPOLCOM’s memo affects the morale and welfare of the PNP officers.

“This is demoralizing. We all want our police to be happy because they are serving this country and they're offering their lives in the service of this country,” he added.

In defending the proposed 2025 budget of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino admitted that the NAPOLCOM had made a mistake.

“Nire-reorganize 'yung NAPOLCOM and nakakasigurado po kayo, your honor, na once na ma-reorganize ang NAPOLCOM, mag-i-isyu ng bagong circular rectifying all these errors which your honor just mentioned. So itatama po ito (NAPOLCOM is being reorganized and you can rest assured, your honor, that, once the reorganization is completed, they will issue a new circular rectifying all the errors that you have just mentioned),” he said.

The former top-cop suggested the term “time in grade” in promotion mentioned in the memorandum circular must be replaced with the term “time in position.”