Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla on Tuesday outlined his priorities for the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), including reorganizing the Philippine National Police (PNP).
In a Palace briefing, Remulla said he recommends reducing the number of police generals from over 130 to just 25.
“There are a lot of generals without commands. We have APC (area police commands) that have no subordinates. So there are redundancies that need to be trimmed down,” he noted.
Remulla said there’s a need to revisit the 32-year-old Republic Act (RA) 6975 or the DILG Act of 1991, the law establishing the national police force.
He stressed that his planned PNP reorganization was among the topics discussed during a sectoral meeting presided over by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in Malacañang on Tuesday morning.
Remulla said they are still studying the changes to be made in the PNP, including the “top-heavy” police organization.
“That's my plan. It's still a plan. That’s one of my recommendations to flatten the organization,” he said.
PNP chief Police General Rommel Marbil earlier urged lawmakers to amend RA 6975 to address its organizational flaws.
Marbil said the PNP needs to transition into a “flatter, more streamlined structure” to hasten decision-making, especially during emergencies, improve accountability, and improve communication across all ranks.
“The current hierarchical system often slows down decision-making, particularly in critical situations where prompt responses are vital,” he said.
While RA 6975 was groundbreaking at PNP’s inception, Marbil said it must evolve to meet the demands of modern policing.
“By restructuring the PNP, the Philippines would move closer to building a police force that is efficient, accountable, and adequately equipped to serve the public in the 21st century,” he added.