Remulla aims to reduce police generals to under 100

Metro Manila, Philippines – The higher echelons of the national police will be substantially reduced under a plan of the Interior secretary in a bid to streamline the force.

Initially targeting 25, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said he now aims to reduce the number of generals to under 100.

“We have 153 generals, and a lot of them are redundant… We’ve been talking to them, and I think we can streamline this down to maybe less than a hundred,” Remulla said Wednesday while facing the powerful Commission on Appointments to confirm his position as head of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

He responded to Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros, who inquired about his earlier statement to reduce the number of generals in the DILG-supervised Philippine National Police to just 25.

“That statement was meant to start the conversation between PNP and the SILG (Secretary of the Interior and Local Government). I came from totally new grounds and I wanted to see how the reactions would be,” Remulla said.

He cited “discrepancies” in the current system.

“The NCRPO (National Capital Region Police Office chief) is a one-star general, his deputy is a one-star general. So why do you have two generals of the same rank occupying one position higher than the other?” Remulla said.

He added that while military personnel are eligible for promotion every five years, the PNP follows the Civil Service Commission’s three-year rule, leading to an excessive number of generals.

“It then becomes very bloated and it becomes a right rather than a privilege to become a general. So I propose that it be based on merit and that it be based on need, and that it be based on function,” Remulla said.

In a press conference after passing the CA panel, Remulla clarified that no police general would be dismissed, although the process has yet to be determined.

“We are not firing anyone. We are not removing anyone. We are waiting for their retirement. And we will formulate a policy whether or not we will replace the generals that are retiring,” Remulla said.

“For most… ang kailangan gawin ay pag-aralan kung deserving ba talaga o kailangan ba talaga ng star rank ng posisyon na ‘yon or pwede na lang colonel or other positions (What needs to be done is to study whether the star rank is truly deserved or necessary for that position, or if a colonel or other rank would suffice.),” he added.

“It's like having too many cooks in the kitchen,” Remulla said, while mentioning budgetary concerns.

He said he will work with Congress and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to implement his proposed reforms. He added that he has discussed the matter with Marcos, and the President “agrees with me that it should be studied and streamlined.”