PRO 7 to implement 8-hour duty shift for police personnel

THE Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO 7) will follow the directive of the new Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, Police General Nicolas Torre III, regarding the implementation of the eight-hour duty shift for police personnel.

According to Police Brigadier General Redrico Maranan, the head of police in Central Visayas, during their command conference with the PNP chief, it was agreed that the implementation of the eight-hour duty shift will depend on the effectiveness of the system in a specific location.

He said that if a police station requires personnel to be on a 12-hour duty shift in a day, especially in far-flung areas like island provinces, the PNP chief does not oppose it.

However, he clarified that the eight-hour duty shift will be implemented in urban centers or highly urbanized areas such as the cities of Cebu, Mandaue, and Lapu-Lapu.

“Depende yan sa ating chief of police, depende sa peculiarities ng bawat lugar. For example, kung ikaw ay nanduon sa isang isla, for example, sa Pilar, ano ba ang effective na dutyhan dun ng police effective ba duon ang 8 hours effective na duon ang 12 hours? Kung ikaw naman ay nasa highly urbanized areas katulad ng Cebu City, Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue, ano ba ang effective duty hours ng mga police dyan, but we will comply duon sa 8 hours duty na sinasabi ng ating chief PNP, especially duon sa mga urban centers yung mga highly urbanized areas,” said Maranan.

(That depends on the chief of police and the peculiarities of each area. For example, if you are in an island like Pilar, what is the most effective duty shift for police there — eight hours or 12 hours? On the other hand, if you are in highly urbanized areas like Cebu City, Lapu-Lapu, and Mandaue, what duty hours are effective there? But we will comply with the eight-hour duty shift as instructed by our Chief PNP, especially in urban centers and highly urbanized areas.)

Maranan said the new PNP chief’s intention is good, aiming to allow police officers to spend more time with their families.

Earlier, Torre had revealed that the 12-hour duty shift is no longer effective due to fatigue, which is why he wants to implement the labor law standards.

Among the improvements they aim to implement is the 3-to-5-minute police response time to alarms or emergencies, which is also part of Torre’s program.

Maranan said that during his term as PRO 7 chief, it has also been the directive of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to strengthen emergency response, which is now also the priority of the new PNP chief.

PRO 7 had already launched the Emergency Alert Button App a few months ago, allowing all police units to receive real-time alerts, enabling quicker response.

Under this new PNP program, the public is advised to call the 911 hotline instead of going directly to police stations in case of an emergency.

Within three to five minutes, police officers are expected to arrive on the scene — something PRO 7 is prepared to implement.

“So yung 3-minute to 5-minute response time na ating gagawin ay gagawin natin yan dito sa Region 7 bilang pagtalima sa kautosan ng ating pangulo at pagtalima natin din sa instruction ng ating bagong chief PNP,” said Maranan.

(So the 3-to-5-minute response time will be implemented here in Region 7 in compliance with the President’s directive and the instructions of our new chief PNP.)

They will also further strengthen police visibility, a policy already being enforced, to ensure that the presence of police officers is felt and seen on the streets.

This is a strategy to prevent crimes through the visible presence of police officers in public areas. (AYB)