DILG wants number of PNP generals trimmed from 133 to 25

MANILA, Philippines — As part of his efforts to reform the Philippine National Police, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla wants to trim down the number of PNP generals from 133 to just 25.

Remulla said he made the recommendation to President Marcos during a sectoral meeting at Malacañang yesterday, his first as head of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

“We discussed the reforms needed in the PNP, but that’s a four-month process and we will brief you as it goes along,” the DILG chief said at a Palace press briefing.

He noted the PNP is currently “very top-heavy” and is in need of streamlining to “flatten” the organization.

Remulla said the President is “very accepting” of his recommendations.

He added they are working closely with the University of the Philippines’ College of Public Administration to get complete details on how to reform the organization’s structure.

“I think we have 133 generals. I want to whittle it down to 25,” Remulla said.

Asked if the recommendation could cause the demotion of PNP senior officials, Remulla said, “No. We will let them retire and then…it’s the plan, it’s… just one of my recommendations to flatten the organization.”

“There are a lot of generals now without commands. If you look at it, we have APC – Area Police Command – with no people under them,” Remulla said.

“So, we have many areas of redundancies that need to be trimmed down. It’s a 32-year-old law that needs to be revisited,” he added, referring to Republic Act 6975, the law that established the national police agency in 1991.

Remulla also dismissed the possibility of demoralization among the PNP senior officials who would be affected by his proposal.

“They’re also soldiers…they follow orders and we’ll see. That is recommendatory,” he said.

Under Civil Service rules, police personnel get a promotion every three years.

Remulla suggested adding two more years for police personnel before qualifying for a promotion.