Inequality in the PNP Service

Last July 19, 2015, the Inquirer.net  bannered a report about the soaring discontent of the graduates of the Philippine National Police Academy about the lingering “inequality” in the Philippine National Police.  The report stated that:

“Alumni of the Philippine National Police Academy have slammed Interior secretary Mar Roxas for allegedly not acting on their appeal to correct the disparity in the promotion and placement of officials.

The Philippine National Police Academy Alumni Association, Inc. said their appeal for a more fair playing field for graduates of the PNPA and the Philippine Military Academy fell on deaf ears. This was despite directives issued twice by President Aquino himself to correct the situation – early this year during the PNPA graduation, and last week’s change of command ceremony of the PNP.

“Our appeal had virtually fallen on deaf ears as the interior secretary apparently adopted a ‘deadma’ attitude on our plight,” said PNPAAAI chairperson Tomas Rentoy III in a statement.

The PNPAAAI has 8,000 members, all alumni of the PNPA. Graduates of the PNPA become commissioned officers mostly in the PNP, the Bureau of Fire Protection and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology.

It is an open secret in the PNP that PMA graduates are favored when it comes to promotions and assignments over their PNPA counterparts..."
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/706210/roxas-slammed-for-not-leveling-playing-field-between-pnpa-pma-grads#ixzz3gjh4ZYk2

R.A. 6975 which created the PNP is very clear. The PNP is national in scope and civilian in character.  However, although it was signed into law in 1991, some graduates of PMA Class of 1992 were still allowed to join the PNP.  Granting that a cadet graduates at the age of 22 and given the mandatory retirement age of 56, these PMA’ers will serve the PNP until 2026. Unless the culture of factionalism which is very much prevalent among the A’ers is checked, PNPA alumni along with those organic erstwhile non-commissioned officers who rose from the ranks and lateral entrants, will remain virtual second class citizens in their own backyard for ten more years.

Anent this seething issue,  a proposal although immediately nipped in the bud as soon as it took its form, had been widely entertained albeit secretly by some officers which belong to the PNPAAAI. “There is a way to correct this one serious lapse in legislation,” the proponent, a “rose-from-the-rank” police officer who did not want to be identified said.  “Congress should pass a law which will revert back all PMA graduates who are now in the police service to the military.  After all PMA is a military school hence, its graduates should serve in the military service; not in the PNP which is civilian in character.”

This officer believes that it is the only acceptable solution to this seething problem, rather than wait until the issue further drives a wedge in the already divided PNP.


At the moment, PNPA graduates greatly outnumber those who came from the PMA which is already a vanishing breed. As mentioned earlier, these PMA'ers will still be around for the next ten years.  That proposed legislation reverting back to the military service may be good.  However, such action from Congress if ever,  might come  a bit too late.  All PNP officers who came from the PMA are all third level officers now; meaning they now occupy the rank of Police Superintendent and up.  They are all senior police commissioned officers who, although having graduated from a military academy have over the years of police service, acquired expertise and competence by way of various trainings - police operations, investigation, intelligence, supervisory courses (in the case of junior officers), management courses (for senior officers), police-community relations and other  valuable advance courses which are all needed for their promotion.

Therefore, it will be unrealistic if these PMA'ers will be reverted back to the Armed Forces even if legislation will be enacted for that purpose.  Such action will cause a glut in the Officer Corps of the AFP, aside from the mismatch of skill sets carried by those officers.

This alleged problem of inequality in the promotions and assignments in the PNP Officers Corps is not just confined between the PNPA graduates and the PMA’ers. Another breed of officers, those who rose from the ranks and those who have been commissioned to the PNP Officers Corps by way of lateral entry sometimes cry foul over the same practice of “favoritism.” In some cases animosity arising from rivalry among these “third breed” of officers happen, especially if a former non-com who worked his way up is sideswiped by a lateral entrant in the assignment and promotion.  It is a classic case of two “virtual second class citizens” elbowing each other  for that somewhat narrow door of opportunity, whereas, their first class counterparts are being given convenient path for career advancement. Records don’t lie; at the moment, key positions within the PNP are being held by PMA graduates – from the chief, to the command group, administrative and operational support units, as well as police regional offices; and if the government does not craft an acceptable solution, this culture of favoritism will linger until after the last PMA graduate who joined the PNP in 1992 retires.

Of course, the PNP hierarchy as well as the National Police Commission can always direct the perusing eyes of the public to the various laws and issuances which serve as the guidelines in the manner of promotion and assignment of PNP personnel.  But as one disgruntled officer said; “The law is seldom followed when it comes to assignment because ultimately, the discretion of the appointing officer prevails.  More often than not, internal politics and patronage serve as major factors in promotion and assignment.”