The Philippine National Police is looking at reducing the current 12-hour police duty to eight hours to give PNP personnel enough rest and time for their families.
PNP chief Gen. Camilo Cascolan said at a press briefing Monday that the reduced number of work hours would have a positive effect on the overall health and well-being of the 209,000 police force.
He added the eight-hour police duty could promote productivity.
“The best way for them to perform is to have a good schedule, especially when it comes to beat patrols,” Cascolan told reporters.
The newly appointed PNP chief said the eight-hour shift could be implemented in the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), which has over 27,000 cops.
“NCRPO personnel can do eight hours duty and 16 hours off,” Cascolan said.
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PNP eyes reducing police duty to 8 hours
He said police commanders may opt to maintain the current 12-hour shift but would be given an option to extend the rest hours of their personnel to 24 hours from the current 16 hours.
Cascolan admitted that there are situations when police officers have to stay on duty for more than eight hours, especially for police stations do not have enough personnel.
The PNP chief said police officers could conduct beat patrols for eight hours and spend additional four hours for administrative tasks such as documentation of suspected criminals arrested in police operations and have a day off afterward.
In 2018, Cascolan implemented the eight-hour shift police duty when he was serving as the NCRPO chief.
Cascolan said the shorter work hours were aimed at making the police “more effective and efficient.”
“They’ll also be able to get better rest. We know that a cop can’t last eight hours patrolling,” he added.
The then NCRPO chief said the current 12-hour police duty had proven to be exhausting, the reason why many policemen sometimes “rest” in the middle of their shift.
Former PNP chief Oscar Albayalde then removed him from his post and transferred him to the Civil Security Group due to policy differences, sources said.