PNP sets 5-minute police response time in a pilot test for Metro Manila
Philippine National Police chief Gen. Nicolas Torre III delivers a speech when he assumes the police top post. Screengrab from RTVM video / FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police (PNP) has set a target emergency response time of five minutes in a pilot initiative in Metro Manila.
PNP Chief Gen. Nicolas Torre III explained that the five-minute goal was a compromise between the usual seven-minute response target set by the police force and the three-minute response plan he outlined in his speech when he assumed office last Monday.
“We are going to the middle ground first, five minutes in the entire Metro Manila,” Torre said in a mix of Filipino and English during a chance interview with reporters in Camp Crame on Wednesday.
“I have already requested some of the mayors, and I am going to actually request (San Juan) Mayor (Francis) Zamora as the chairman of the RPOC NCR (Regional Peace and Order Council – National Capital Region) to support us on this project,” he added.
READ: Torre’s first orders: Faster response time, 8-hour shift, gear inventory
In a Palace briefing later on Wednesday, Torre added that the five-minute emergency response time goal will be reduced to three minutes over the course of three months.
When asked what sanctions await officers and units that fail to meet the five-minute target, Torre said, “Their bodies will hurt. I have them trained and we will make sure that they will comply with it. So, drill, drill, drill and more drills will be the key.”
Deactivating police boxes, community precincts
Torre also said he was considering deactivating police boxes and police community precincts as part of his directive to mobilize police officers into patrol cars instead.
READ: Torre unveils plans for PNP: 3-minute emergency response, tech upgrades
“Don’t look for police officers in precincts because we are on your phones. Dial 911; we’ll be there within five minutes. That’s our promise,” he added in Filipino. /jpv
