Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Police General Rommel Marbil on Wednesday called for the reorganization of the PNP into a “civilian-centric” force to address issues due to its “hierarchical and militaristic” structure.
“The PNP needs to adopt a flatter structure instead of a hierarchical one. A flatter organization will allow quicker decision-making and ensure firmer accountability,” Marbil said in a statement.
According to Marbil, the existing “utos sa taas” or top-down directive culture within the PNP leads to operational bottlenecks, stifles grassroots innovation, and dilutes individual accountability among officers.
He said the current structure of the PNP was designed for a militarized force.
For the PNP’s civilian mandate, Marbil said a flatter structure is needed to improve local accountability, build stronger community relationships, and reduce bureaucratic delays that hinder the police orgnaization’s responsiveness.
Marbil also called for the amendment of the DILG Act of 1990 to facilitate the PNP’s transition into a “modern” and “civilian- centric” police force.
“We have made great strides with reforms in discipline and operational systems, but reorganization is the next logical step to cure the age-old systemic flaws,” he said.
In October last year, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said he is recommending that the number of police generals be trimmed down to streamline what he considers to be the top-heavy leadership of the PNP.
”That’s my plan… It’s still a plan, that’s one of my recommendations, to flatten the organization,” Remulla said.
”There are a lot of generals without commands. Mayroon tayong APC– area police commands– na wala naman tao sa ilalim nila. So marami tayong lugar na redundancies na kailangan i-trim down. It’s a 32-year-old law na kailangan bisitahin ulit,” he added. —RF, GMA Integrated News
