Senator Panfilo Lacson lauded the Philippine National Police (PNP) leadership for reviving what he considers as his “best legacy” to the institution, saying the fitness policy for cops would benefit everyone.
Lacson, who, as PNP chief from 1999 to 2001, personally led his men in physical fitness regimens, said police personnel would be the first to benefit from the policy by way of being healthier.
“I would like to think the best legacy I left in the police institution was the discipline that I instilled in my policemen who I enjoined to stop huffing and puffing with big bulging tummies. Instead, they maintained a maximum waistline of 34 inches so they would be trim and thin when they chased robbers and other criminals,” Lacson said in a statement.
“Para sa kanila yan (It’s for them). For many pot-bellied police officers, their waistlines were reduced to a point that they became proud and confident of wearing their police uniforms once more. But most importantly, the sight of fit and trim police officers pounding their beats would instill confidence in the public,” he said.
He said the PNP should also intensify the internal cleansing efforts to ensure that rogue police personnel who betray their oaths “to serve and protect” are punished.
“If we have policemen and policewomen who are physically and morally fit, everybody indeed wins. Only the bad guys will lose,” Lacson said.
PNP officer-in-charge, Lt. Gen. Archie Gamboa on Monday announced that the PNP will begin to strictly enforce weight standards this year, emphasizing the physical fitness for police officers.
To ensure strict compliance, Gamboa said overweight police officers would be barred from attending training and other types of schooling for career advancement and promotion until they meet their ideal weight. (PNA)