PNP eyes reducing cops duty to 8 hours

METRO MANILA – The Philippine National Police is planning to reduce the shift of their personnel from the current 12 hours to an 8-hour shift to give them time have more quality time with their family and rest.

PNP chief Gen. Camilo Cascolan said that the plan of reducing the work hours would give a positive impact to the well being of 209,000-strong police force.

The PNP Chief aims to promote productivity in the police force and that the daily duties of cops should be reduced to 8 hours. He thinks that it’s the best way for their personnel to promote productivity and giving them good schedules especially when it comes to beat patrols.

The plans for the 8-hour shift can be applied first in the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) which currently has 27,000 active police personnel.

Coscolan said that NCRPO personnel can do 8-hour shifts and 16 hours off. Police commanders have the option to maintain the 12-hour shift but will now have the option to extend rest period to 24 hours from the current 16 hours.

PNP admitted that there are instances where the police officers were forced to stay on duty beyond the 8 hours especially for units lacking of personnel.

Coscolan added that policeman may do beat patrols for 8 hours and the remaining 4 hours for documentation and administrative duties. The new PNP chief is know in the agency as an official who take care of his troops. He was able to implement the 8-hours shift when he headed NCRPO way back in 2018.