Police Commission creation and local police system reforms

Policy: Efficiency, Impartiality, Professionalism

The Act declares the policy and purpose to achieve a higher degree of efficiency in the organization, administration, and operation of local police agencies.
The Act provides that peace and order shall be maintained more effectively and laws enforced with more impartiality.
The Act states an object to place the local police service on a professional level.

Police Commission: Creation and Composition

A Police Commission is created under the Office of the President of the Philippines.
The Commission is composed of a chairman and two other members, appointed by the President with the consent of the Commission on Appointments.
Members hold office for a term of seven years and may not be reappointed.
Of the first appointees: one member serves seven years, another five years, and the other three years.
The Chairman and members may be removed only for cause.
No person may be appointed as chairman or member unless the person is:
- A member of the Philippine Bar and has at least ten years of experience in police work; or
- Has a bachelor’s degree in police administration or criminology and has at least ten years of experience in police work.
The Director of the National Bureau of Investigation and the Chief of the Philippine Constabulary are ex-officio members.
Ex-officio members participate in deliberations but do not have the right to vote and receive no compensation; they are entitled to reimbursement of actual expenses incurred, not exceeding PHP 200 a month.
The Commission sits en bane and decides by majority vote; disqualification to decide cases follows Rule 137 of the Rules of Court.
Unless Congress provides otherwise, the Chairman receives an annual salary of PHP 20,000 and other members receive PHP 18,000 each annually.
The Chairman is the executive officer of the Commission and, in the Chairman’s absence due to temporary incapacity or disqualification, an earlier-appointed member acts as Chairman; in case of death, permanent incapacity, or disqualification, an acting Chairman continues until a new Chairman is appointed.
While in office, the Chairman and members must not:
- Engage in the practice of any profession, or
- Intervene directly or indirectly in the management or control of any private enterprise that may be affected by the functions of the office,
- Be financially interested in any contract with the government or any subdivision or instrumentality thereof, including government-owned or controlled corporations.

Powers and Core Duties of the Commission

The Commission must advise the President on matters involving local police administration.
The Commission must examine and audit on a continuing basis the performance, activities, and facilities of all local police agencies throughout the country.
The Commission must prepare a police manual prescribing rules and regulations for efficient organization, administration, and operation of local police agencies, including:
- Recruitment, selection, and promotion.
The Commission must conduct surveys and compile statistical data to evaluate the efficiency of local police agencies.
The Commission must study, prepare, and recommend to Congress legislation defining questions of jurisdiction between:
- The National Bureau of Investigation,
- The Philippine Constabulary, and
- Local police agencies.
The Commission must recommend to the President, after due investigation en bane, the placing of any local police agency under Philippine Constabulary control; if the President places an agency under Constabulary control, the Commission must then conduct the necessary investigation and make the necessary recommendations.
The Commission must approve appointments of confidential agents, security agents, special agents, and informers by governors or mayors in positions not permanent in the plantilla as provided in the annual budget.
The Commission must submit to Congress a study on the feasibility of organizing a national police agency that is non-military and civilian in character.
The Commission must organize and develop police training programs and operate police academies.
The Commission must establish a system of Uniform Crime Reports.
The Commission must recommend a crime prevention program within sixty days before the commencement of each fiscal year.
The Commission must recommend, in consultation with the Secretary of Finance, the release of funds appropriated or to be appropriated to carry out the Act.
The Commission must render an annual report to the President and Congress of its activities and accomplishments during the calendar year, submitted within 30 days after the end of the calendar year, including:
- An appraisal of conditions in the organization and administration of local police agencies; and
- Conditions of peace and order in cities, provinces, and municipalities, with recommendations for remedial legislation.
The Commission must prescribe minimum standards for:
- Arms equipment,
- Police uniform,
- Insignia of ranks,
- Awards and medals of honor,
  for all local police agencies after due consultation with the Philippine Heraldry Commission.

Staff, Local Police Forces, and Peace Officers

The Commission shall organize its staff and may, with Presidential approval, call upon qualified law-enforcement experts in government service to assist it.
In each city or municipality, there shall be a chief of police and such number of policemen as the municipal board or council determines in accordance with the Act’s police strength rules.
The council fixes compensation of officers and members in accordance with the Act’s salary provisions.
Each municipality or city must provide, at its own expense, all necessary police equipment, including arms, uniforms, and insignia, conforming to Commission specifications.
The Chief of Police is the custodian of all police equipment and arms not issued to individual policemen and is responsible for them; individual policemen are responsible for equipment, arms, uniforms, and insignia issued to them.
All police agency members are peace officers and must:
- Preserve peace and order,
- Prevent crimes,
- Protect life, liberty, and property, and
- Arrest all law and ordinance violators within jurisdiction.
Peace officers must exercise general powers to make arrest, searches, and seizures in accordance with law and detain an arrested person only within the period prescribed by law.

Appointments, Qualifications, Exams, and Promotion

Upon approval of the Act, appointment to a local police agency is made by the mayor from a list of eligible certified by the Civil Service Commission.
In cities where the city council participates in police force appointments under their charters, appointment power must follow those charters.
Appointments are on a probationary basis for six months, with an evaluation and recommendation report for retention or dismissal by the chief of police prior to the end of the probationary period.
The President retains power to appoint the Chief of Police, Assistant Chief of Police, or Chief of the Secret Service of the police department under existing city charters until December 31, 1967.
In chartered cities, if disagreements between the mayor and the municipal board or city council continue for ninety days, the matter is referred to the Police Commission, whose decision is final.
In municipalities, if disagreements between the municipal mayor and municipal council regarding appointment of the Chief of Police continue for ninety days, the matter is referred to the Police Commission, whose decision is final.
Appointment rules must not prejudice the tenure of incumbent chiefs and senior positions as of January 1, 1968, who may be removed only for cause.
Municipal mayors, city mayors, and provincial governors must not appoint special policemen or special agents or confidential agents within sixty days before and after every election.

General qualifications for appointment

No person may be appointed to a local police agency unless the person:
- Is a Philippine citizen,
- Has good habits and moral conduct,
- Is of sound mind and body,
- Completed at least high school for municipalities and at least two years college for provinces and cities,
- Has no criminal record,
- Has not been dishonorably discharged from military employment or dismissed for cause from any civilian government position,
- Is not less than twenty-three nor more than thirty-three years of age,
- Meets the height requirement: at least five feet, five inches for provinces and chartered cities and five feet four inches for municipalities,
- Meets the weight requirement: not less than one hundred twenty pounds.
Persons who, at approval of the Act, rendered at least five years of satisfactory service in a provincial, city, or municipal police agency without qualifying in an appropriate civil service examination are treated as civil service eligibles for purposes of the Act.

Chief of Police minimum qualification

A person may not be appointed chief of a city police agency unless the person holds a bachelor’s degree and has served in at least one of these capacities:
- In the Armed Forces of the Philippines or in the National Bureau of Investigation,
- As chief of police with an exemplary record,
- In the police department of any city with the rank of captain or its equivalent for at least three years,
- Or as a high school graduate who served as an officer in the Armed Forces for at least eight years with rank of captain and/or higher.
A person may not be appointed chief of a municipal police agency unless the person holds a bachelor’s degree, or is a high school graduate who served in the police agency of a city or a municipality, or served as an Armed Forces officer for at least five years from the rank of lieutenant or detective lieutenant and/or higher.
If no civil service eligible is available, provisional appointment may be made under Civil Service Law and rules if the appointee has the required educational qualification.
Provisional appointment must not extend beyond six months, except for a valid cause and with approval of the Civil Service Commission.

Permanent appointment qualifications and preference

Except as otherwise provided, no person may be permanently appointed to any position in the local police force or agency unless the person has qualified in an appropriate or police service examination.
If no civil service eligibles are available, preference applies to candidates who have completed:
- Police training courses abroad sponsored by NEC-AID or any other sponsoring agency, or
- The police training courses of the Philippine Constabulary School or the National Bureau of Investigation Academy, or
- Any public or private police training school accredited by the government, or
- Military trainee instructions, or
- Are officers or enlisted men honorably discharged from the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
Where no civil service eligible is available, provisional appointment may be made under Civil Service Law and rules; for a patrolman appointee, the appointee must possess the general qualifications under Section 9.

Promotional rules

Promotions are made by the local chief executive upon consultation or advice of the chief of the local police agency.
Promotions are made from among those who have passed the corresponding promotional examination given by the Civil Service Commission.

Civil service examinations

All police service-related examinations must be conducted by the Civil Service Commission.
The Civil Service Commissioner must announce dates and places of examinations, which must be held not less than once in two years, to qualify for all ranks and grades in police service.
Examinations must be held under rules in the Police Manual.
Bar examinations are declared as civil service examination for original and promotional appointment.
The Civil Service Commission must prescribe, announce, and hold examinations for technical positions in police laboratories, including:
- Questioned documents experts,
- Ballistics experts, and
- Other fields of scientific criminology.

Removal, Suspension, and Disciplinary Process

Members of the local police agency cannot be suspended or removed except upon a written complaint filed under oath before the Board of Investigators for:
- Misconduct or incompetency,
- Dishonesty,
- Disloyalty to the Government,
- Serious irregularities in performance of duties, and
- Violation of law.
In every local police agency, a Board of Investigators exists.
Charges are investigated by a Board of Investigators of three members:
- The city or municipal treasurer as chairman,
- A representative of the Provincial Commander, and
- A councilor elected by a majority of the city or municipal council concerned.
The chairman must furnish a copy of the charges to the respondent within five days from filing.
The respondent must answer within five days from receipt.
The Board conducts the investigation in public within five days from receipt of the respondent’s answer or expiration of the period to answer, whichever is earlier.
Unless good cause is shown, the investigation must be finished within thirty days thereafter.
The Board must submit records, findings, and recommendations to the Police Commission within thirty days after termination of the investigation.
The Police Commission’s decision is final and must be rendered within seventy-five days from receipt of the Board’s findings.
Disciplinary jurisdiction over offenses involving suspension of not more than ten days or forfeiture of not more than fifteen days’ pay is vested in the chief of the police agency, and that decision is final.
The Board of Investigators also decides investigations and claims relative to benefits under the Act, subject to appeal to the Police Commission, whose decision is final.

Administrative suspension by mayor

When an administrative charge under oath is filed against a member, the city mayor or municipal mayor may suspend the respondent when there are strong reasons to believe the respondent is probably guilty of:
- Disloyalty to government,
- Dishonesty,
- Oppression,
- Grave misconduct,
- Serious irregularities, or
- Serious neglect of duty.
Preventive suspension must not be more than sixty days.
After preventive suspension, the respondent must be reinstated without prejudice to continuation of the case until final disposition.
Delay attributable to the respondent’s fault, negligence, or petition is excluded from the suspension period computation.
Upon exoneration, the respondent is entitled to salary for the period of suspension.

Suspension pending court decision

If a member is accused in court of any felony or violation of law by the city or municipal attorney or by the listed prosecuting officials in their respective roles, the city or municipal mayor must immediately suspend the accused pending final court decision.
If acquitted, the accused is entitled to immediate reinstatement and payment of the entire salary failed to receive during suspension.
Courts must accord priority to trial and disposition of criminal cases against members of police forces.

Filling vacancies and acting leadership

If a vacancy results from death, retirement, resignation, suspension, or removal, the mayor must fill the vacancy as provided by the Act.
If the vacancy is filled in relation to suspension, the appointment is only for the duration of the suspension when required by service exigencies.
When the Chief of Police position is temporarily vacant, the Deputy Chief of Police automatically assumes the office.

Police strength, ranks, salaries, and protections

Ranks and positions in the city or municipal police force remain as they have historically been in the police service.
Incumbents with extended permanent appointments under any law prior to effectivity continue in office and receive full protection under the Act.
Police strength must be proportionate to population based on the latest official census at a rate of at least one policemen for every one thousand inhabitants.
The minimum number of policemen in municipalities cannot be less than the following:
- First-class municipalities: at least fifty members,
- Second-class: at least forty,
- Third-class: at least twenty,
- Fourth-class: at least fifteen,
- Fifth-class: at least ten,
- Sixth and seventh-class: at least eight.
Municipal districts of lower category must have at least one patrolman.

Salary rules and subsidies

Municipal councils fix municipal police salaries subject to minimum yearly amounts for patrolmen:
- First-class municipalities: PHP 2,400 per annum,
- Second-class: PHP 2,280 per annum,
- Third-class to seventh-class: PHP 2,160 per annum.
For the Act, first-class municipal districts are treated as seventh-class municipalities.
City councils fix city police salaries subject to minimum yearly amounts for patrolmen:
- First-class cities: not less than PHP 3,000 per annum,
- Second-class cities: not less than PHP 2,640 per annum,
- Third-class cities: not less than PHP 2,400 per annum,
- Fourth and fifth-class cities: not less than PHP 2,160 per annum.
The chief of police’s annual salary in chartered cities under Republic Act Numbered Three thousand seven hundred nineteen cannot be less than:
- First-class cities: PHP 12,000,
- Second-class: PHP 9,600,
- Third-class: PHP 8,400,
- Fourth-class: PHP 7,800,
- Fifth-class: PHP 7,200.
The chief of police’s annual salary in municipalities under Republic Act Numbered Two thousand three hundred sixty-eight cannot be less than:
- First-class (first-one): PHP 6,000,
- First-class (first-two): PHP 5,400,
- First-class (first-three): PHP 5,100,
- First-class (first-four): PHP 4,800,
- First-class (first-five): PHP 4,500,
- Second-class: PHP 4,200,
- Third-class: PHP 3,600,
- Fourth-class: PHP 3,000,
- Fifth, sixth and seventh-classes: PHP 2,400.
In both city and municipal police, the difference in monthly salary from one rank to the next higher rank cannot be less than PHP 20.
No member of the city or municipal police shall suffer any salary decrease by operation of the Act.
Salary subsidies are provided by the National Government equal to one-half of the total minimum annual salaries for the police force as prescribed.
Salaries of additional policemen above the prescribed minimum number must be borne exclusively by the city or municipality.

Death, disability, and lawful funding of benefits

When a member is injured while in the performance of duty, contracts sickness or disease arising from performance of duty, or is absent due to disability caused thereby, the member is entitled to:
- Full pay,
- Payment of medicines,
- Medical attendance,
- Hospital fees,
- Necessary transportation and subsistence.
Such absence is not charged against vacation or sick leave.
The member is also entitled to a lump sum gratuity of from PHP 100 to PHP 2,000, depending on the merits of the case.
In addition to Government Service Insurance System premiums, the proper governmental entity pays premiums due for any applicable group insurance policy in force.
If the member is killed or dies from injuries suffered or sickness contracted in line of duty, the surviving spouse (or, if none, dependants or surviving parents or brothers and sisters) receives, in addition:
- One year’s salary, which is not less than PHP 4,000, and
- Burial expenses equivalent to three months’ salary, which is not less than PHP 500.
If the member is permanently disabled as a result of injuries or sickness in line of duty, the city or municipal mayor must cause compulsory retirement upon certification by the city or municipal health officer that the disability renders the member unfit to perform duties as a peace officer.
Compulsory retirement entitles the member to:
- A gratuity equivalent to one year’s salary, not less than PHP 4,000, plus the other foregoing benefits, and
- A lifetime pension equivalent to 80% of his last salary.
If the disabled member believes disability is partial rather than total, the member may appeal to the Police Commission; the Police Commission decision is final.
Disbursements under the benefits system are authorized by the Commission upon recommendation of the Board of Investigators.
All compensation granted is exempt from attachment, levy, execution, or any tax, and it does not affect benefits from the Government Service Insurance System.
Claims under the Act do not prescribe.

Appropriation limits

An appropriation is made of PHP 20,000,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for:
- Underwriting compensation of police forces/agencies and the benefits under preceding sections,
- Extension of scholarship training or study grants to deserving police officers, and
- Operation of the Police Commission.
Not more than 2% of the appropriation may be used for staff salaries under Section 5 for administrative purposes.
The amounts necessary thereafter are to be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.

Election-related prohibition and criminal penalty

Within two months immediately preceding any election for public office and within one month thereafter, a city or municipal police member is prohibited from acting as bodyguard or security guard of:
- Any public official, or
- Any person who is a candidate for any elective public office or position,
  unless authorized by the Commission on Elections.
Any person who unduly interferes with legitimate law enforcement functions or with the Board of Investigators’ performance of functions in violation of the Act and/or Civil Service rules and regulations is punished by:
- Imprisonment of not less than three months nor more than one year, and
- A fine not exceeding PHP 1,000.

Repeal, savings, separability, and pending cases

Republic Act No. 557 and executive orders, rules, and regulations inconsistent with the Act are repealed or modified accordingly.
Pending administrative cases involving police service and personnel are absorbed by the Police Commission one hundred days after the publication of the Police Manual containing rules and regulations relative to such matters.
If any part, section, or provision of the Act is held invalid or unconstitutional, the invalidity does not affect other parts, sections, or provisions.