By Brian Campued
Eight chiefs of police in the National Capital Region (NCR) have been relieved from their post for failure to comply with the five-minute quick response policy of Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief PGen. Nicolas Torre III.
In an interview on Monday, Torre announced that the chiefs of police in Caloocan, Navotas, Valenzuela, Mandaluyong, Marikina, San Juan, Parañaque, and Makati were relieved.
“The President directed us—nakita ninyo naman, siya mismo ang nagsabi, he wants the police to respond in five minutes,” the PNP Chief said.
“And I don’t intend to fail on that because I’ve already proven that it can be done even in less than five minutes. Nasa commanders na lang ‘yan.”
Aside from the eight NCR police chiefs, the regional directors from the Negros Island Region, Western Visayas, and Central Visayas may also face removal from their positions.
Torre stressed that these “commanders on the ground” should maximize the deployment of their officers and ensure that cops effectively comply with the quick response policy.
“I’ve already spoken to the regional directors—their provincial directors and chiefs of police are their responsibility, so pag masyadong marami at nakita ko na kaya nagfe-fail ang chiefs of police at provincial directors, district directors… because kulang sa direction and buy-in ng regional directors, aalisin natin ang [regional directors].”
The PNP Chief also gave updates on the quick response policy to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., who witnessed firsthand the capability of the police force in responding to emergency calls made through the 911 hotline.
Marcos noted that this rapid response time reflects ongoing efforts of the administration to modernize law enforcement operations and strengthen police visibility to make people feel genuinely safe.
Torre earlier said that the five-minute quick response time nationwide will then be reduced to three minutes in the upcoming months. (with report from Ryan Lesigues / PTV News)
