PNP Law and History The Philippine National Police Originating from a merging of the Philippine Constabulary and the Integrated National Police, the Philippine National Police (PNP) is the civilian national police force of the Philippines. The following is a brief history of the PNP and the organizational structure that it holds today. I. HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS The Philippine National Police (PNP) originated from the Philippine Constabulary or the PC, which was inaugurated on August 8, 1901, establishing it as an insular police force under the American regime. On August 8, 1975, Presidential Decree no. 765 was issued, establishing the Philippine Constabulary Integrated National Police or the PC/INP as the country’s national police force. These fragmented and diverse local police units were integrated into a national police force with the Philippine Constabulary as its nucleus. After the People’s Revolution in 1986, a new Constitution was promulgated providing for a police force, which is “national in scope and civilian in character.” Consequently, Republic Act No. 6975 entitled, “An Act Establishing the Philippine National Police under a Reorganized Department of the Interior and Local government (DILG),” was signed into law on December 13, 1990, which took effect on January 1, 1991. Subsequently, the PNP was operational on January 29, 1991, whose members were formerly the PC and the INP and the absorption of the selected members from the major service units of the Armed Forces of the Philippines such as the Philippine Air Force Security Command, the Philippine Coast Guard, Philippine Navy, and the Philippine Army. Thus, to further strengthen the PNP into a highly efficient and competent police force, Republic Act No. 8551 entitled “PNP Reform and the Reorganization Act of 1998” was enacted on February 17, 1998, amending certain provisions of Republic Act No. 6975. II. ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE 1. Relationship of the PNP to the DILG Pursuant to Republic Act No. 6975 as amended by Republic Act No. 8551, The PNP in under the administrative control and operational supervision of the National Police Commission. Meanwhile, the NAPOLCOM is an attached agency of the Department of the Interior and Local Government for policy and program coordination. The Secretary of the Interior and Local government is mandated to be the Ex- Officio Chairman of NAPOLCOM. 2. The PNP Organizational Structure In order to accomplish the mission, powers and functions of the PNP, its structure was provided for as follows: 1. The PNP Command Group is headed by the Chief PNP who is vested with the power to command and direct the PNP. He is also assisted by two Deputies assigned to the administration of the PNP and one for operations side. 2. The Chief of the Directorial Staff serves as the Chief Operations Officer of the PNP. He coordinates, supervises, and directs the Directorial Staff and the PNP units in the performance of their respective functions. 3. The Internal Affairs Service (IAS) is headed by a Inspector General who assists the Chief PNP in ensuring operational readiness and investigates infractions of the regulations committed by the members of the PNP. 4. The Human Rights Affairs Office (HRAO) is headed by a senior police commissioned officer who serves as a manager of the facility that will supervise the implementation of the guidelines and policies on human rights laws. 5. The Center for Police Strategy Management (CPSM) serves as the Central facility of the PNP in coordinating and integrating all strategy management processes, sustaining its strategy execution and management, and instilling in the organization a culture of strategy focus. 6. The Directorial Staff is composed of 16 directorates. Every Director in each unit has also his defined function in line with his specialization as follows: o The Directorate for Personnel and Records Management (DPRM). The director optimizes the utilization of personnel resources both from the PNP- uniformed and non- uniformed personnel. o The Directorate for Intelligence (DI). The director manages the gathering/collating of intelligence objectives through effective management of all intelligence and counter-intelligence activities of the PNP. He also serves as the linkage of all foreigners with official transactions with the chief PNP. o The Directorate for Operations (DO). The director exercises the command, the control, the direction, the coordination and the supervision of all activities on PNP operations such as deployment and employment of personnel. o The Directorate for Logistics (DL). The director administers and manages material resources needed for the PNP operations. o The Directorate for Plans (DPL). The director plans and programs strategic PNP operations. He also represents the PNP in the inter-agency and international affairs on peace and order. o The Directorate for Comptrollership (DC). The director administers and manages the fiscal financial resources. o The Directorate for Police-Community Relations (DPCR). The director formulates and implements community –related activities, programs and projects. He also supervises the PNP Salaam Police Center to undertake close monitoring, networking and liaisoning activities with the Muslim communities in addressing terrorism and lawless violence in their respective areas to guarantee that the Muslims are not discriminated, oppressed or singled-out. o The Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management (DIDM). The director coordinates. Controls and supervises all investigation activities. o The Directorate for Human Resource and Doctrine Development (DHRDD). The director formulates policies on matters pertaining to human resources and doctrine development. The Directorate for Research and Development (DRD). The director engages in research and development and does testing and evaluation of self-reliant projects. The Directorate for Information and Communications Technology Management (DICTM). The director integrates and standardizes all the PNP information systems and resources to further improve the frontline services. Five (5) Directorates for Integrated Police Operations (DIPOs). The Directors of the clustered areas for Integrated Police Operations, namely: Eastern Mindanao, Western Mindanao, Visayas, Southern and Northern Luzon are given the responsibility to direct and to supervise the conduct of integrated anticriminality, internal security, counter- terrorism operations, to promote inter-operability with the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and to provide a system to promote regional socio-economic development. 7. There are 23 National Support Units of the PNP. Eleven (11) of which are administrative while twelve (12) are operational in nature. The eleven Administrative Units are as follows: Logistics Support Service (LSS). Information Technology Management Service (ITMS). Finance Service (FS). Health Service (HS).. Communications and Electronics Service (CES). Chaplain Service (CHS). Legal Service (LS). Headquarters Support Service (HSS). Engineering Service( ES). Training Service (TS). and PNP Retirement and Benefits Administration Service (PRBS). The twelve (12) operational support units and their respective functions are as follows: Maritime Group (MG). This group is responsible to perform all police functions over Philippine Territorial waters, lakes, and rivers along coastal areas to include ports and harbors and small islands for the security and the sustainability development of the maritime environment. Intelligence Group (IG). This group serves as the intelligence and counter-intelligence operating unit of the PNP. Police Security and Protection Group (PSPG). This group provides security to government vital installations, government officials, visiting dignitaries and private individuals authorized to be given protection. Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG). This group monitors, investigates, prosecutes all crimes involving economic sabotage, and other crimes of such magnitude and extent as to indicate their commission by highly placed or professional criminal syndicates and organizations. It also conducts organized- crime –control, all major cases involving violations of the revised penal Code, violators of SPECIAL LAWS assigned to them such as Anti-hijacking, Anti-Carnapping and Cyber crimes among others and atrocities committed by Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP)/New People’s Army (NPA)/National Democratic Front (NDF). Special Action Force (SAF). This group is a mobile strike force or a reaction unit to augment regional , provincial, municipal and city police force for civil disturbance control, internal security operations, hostage-taking rescue operations, search and rescue in times of natural calamities, disasters and national emergencies and other special police operations such as ant-hijacking, anti-terrorism, explosives and ordnance disposal. On a special note, the PNP Air Unit is placed under the supervision of SAF. Aviation Security Group (AVEGROUP). This group provides security to all airports throughout the country. Highway Patrol Group (HPG). This group enforces the traffic laws and regulations, promote safety along the highways, enhances traffic safety consciousness through inter- agency cooperation concerning Police Traffic Safety Engineering, Traffic Safety Education and Traffic Law enforcement functions and develops reforms in the crime prevention aspect against all forms of lawlessness committed along National Highway involving the use of motor vehicles. Police-Community Relations Group (PCRG). This group undertakes and orchestrates Police Community Relations program and activities in partnership with concerned government agencies, the community, and volunteer organizations in order to prevent crime and attain a safe and peaceful environment. Civil Security Group (CSG). This group regulates business operations and activities of all organized private detectives, watchmen, security guards/agencies and company guard forces. It also supervises the licensing and registration of firearms and explosives. Crime Laboratory (CL). This group provides scientific and technical, investigative aide and support to the PNP and other investigative agencies. It also provides crime laboratory examination, evaluation and identification of physical evidence gathered at the crime scene with primary emphasis on medical, biological and physical nature. PNP Anti-Kidnapping Group (PNP-AKG). This Group serves as the primary unit of the PNP in addressing kidnapping menace in the country and in handling hostage situations. And PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP- ACG). This Group is responsible for the implementation of pertinent laws on cybercrimes and anti-cybercrime campaigns of the PNP. 8. For the main PNP operating units, there are seventeen (17) Police Regional Offices nationwide which correspond to the Regional subdivisions of the country. Directly under the Police Regional Offices are seventeen (17) Regional Public Safety Battalions (RPSB), eighty (80) Police Provincial Offices which correspond to the number of Provinces in the country and twenty (20) City Police Offices (CPOs) in highly urbanized and independent cities , which are equivalent to a Provincial Police Office. The Police Provincial Offices have their respective Provincial Public Safety Companies (PPSC) which is utilized primarily for internal security operations (ISO). The number of platoons in a Provincial Public Safety Company is dependent on the existing peace and order situation in the province concerned. Finally, a total of 1,766 Police Stations are established nationwide and they are categorized as follows: 90 Component City Police Stations and 1,507 Municipal Police Stations under the Police Provincial Offices, 131 Police Stations under the City Police Offices, and 38 Police Stations/City Police Stations in the National Capital Regional Police Office which serve as the main operating arms of the PNP for the anti-criminality campaign. III. THE PNP RANK CLASSIFICATIONS: The PNP also has a significant feature in line of its rank classifications. It adopts a different structure for purposes of attaining a more efficient administration, supervision, and control as compared to the Armed Forces. These distinct considerations serve as bases for comparison between the ranks of the PNP and ranks of AFP as presented in the table. PNP Ranks Police Commissioned Officers Director General Deputy Director General Director Chief Superintendent Senior Superintendent Superintendent Chief Inspector Senior Inspector Inspector Police Non-Commissioned Officers Senior Police Officer IV Senior Police Officer III Senior Police Officer II Senior Police Officer I Police Officer III Police Officer II Police Officer I AFP Ranks Commissioned Office General Lieutenant General Major General Brigadier General Colonel Lieutenant Colonel Major Captain 1st and 2nd Lieutenant Non-Commissioned Officers Master Sergeant Technical Sergeant Staff Sergeant Sergeant Corporal Private First Class Private IV. THE PNP LINKAGES WITH OTHER LAW ENFORCEMENT ORGANIZATIONS Domestically, the PNP is linked with the other law enforcement agencies through the National Law Enforcement Coordinating Committee (NALECC). This body convenes regularly to foster cooperation and coordination among all law enforcement agencies in the country. It also supports several law enforcement agencies like the Philippine Center for Transnational Crimes (PCTC) and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency. It is also linked with the International Enforcement Community thru the INTERPOL, with the head of the PCTC as the Secretariat, and the Chief PNP as the Chief of the National Central Bureau and a member of the ASEAN Chiefs of Police or ASEANPOL, and a partner of the United Nations Center for International Crime Prevention (UNCICP). V. THE PNP RELATIONSHIP WITH THE AFP The PNP and AFP complement each other on their pursuit to suppress insurgency, and other serious threats to national security and in times of national emergency prescribed pursuant to Section 12 of Republic Act 8551. Consequently there are also governing relationships between them as follows: 1. The PNP enforces laws and ordinances and performs statutory functions while the AFP exercises primary responsibility on matters involving suppression of insurgency and other serious threats to national security. 2. The PNP provides assistance to the AFP in insurgency – affected areas while the AFP is also responsible for the integrated territorial defense system. 3. The PNP assists the AFP for the dispositive action on arrested, captured or surrendered insurgent within the prescribed reglementary period. 4. The PNP provides assistance to the AFP in the arrest of suspected insurgents with standing warrants of arrest, and 5. The PNP and the AFP maintain close intelligence coordination and exchanges and share each other’s accomplishments of their respective mission and functions.
