ACTIVATED. Philippine National Police Chief General Rommel Francisco Marbil (second from left) leads the simultaneous activation of four new police stations under the Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) on Tuesday (July 2, 2024). Marbil said the PNP is pulling out officers in the offices to deploy more personnel on the ground. (PNA photo by Perla G. Lena)
ILOILO CITY – The Philippine National Police (PNP) is reconfiguring its offices to pull out policemen and replace them with non-uniformed personnel to intensify deployment on the ground.
“What we are doing now, we want to bring our policemen on the ground. Maybe not this year, but next year when we try to audit offices, you will feel more police on the ground,” PNP chief General Rommel Francisco Marbil said during the activation of four new police stations under the Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) on Tuesday.
He said the move is in line with the PNP’s goal of achieving a ratio of one police for every 500 population, and a 1:50 ratio in cities with dense population like Iloilo City.
Marbil said Mayor Jerry Treñas has requested for more police officers since the city has been hosting conventions and meetings, but the PNP does not have enough personnel at the moment.
Meanwhile, the four new police stations are Police Station (PS) 7 at the Tanza ICARE in City Proper District; PS 8 at the Barangay Hall of Barangay Obrero; PS 9 at the Uswag Youth Center in Jaro district; and PS 10 at the ICARE Gaisano in Mandurriao district.
The four activated stations will have a total complement of 147 policemen downloaded from the Regional Mobile Force Battalion, and will serve around 143,000 residents from 72 barangays.
Marbil also led the inauguration of over PHP42.5 million completed projects inside the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO6) headquarters, consisting of a multi-purpose building, road network improvement, and a mini park.
He also led the groundbreaking of the PRO6 information technology command center that will serve as the control center for managing disasters, and the central hub for monitoring, controlling, and command operations in the region, as well as a flood control project to address flooding inside the regional headquarters. (PNA)
