While citing the Philippine National Police’s (PNP) progress in regaining public trust through improved services, particularly faster response to distress calls, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Tuesday directed the PNP to work harder and restore public confidence by taking more decisive and responsive actions.
President Marcos said the PNP reported that crime incidents from June 2024 to June 2025 decreased compared to the preceding period, but improved statistics are not enough to make people feel safe.
“As public servants, we do not ask people to celebrate statistics if their experiences tell a different story,” President Marcos said during the celebration of the 124th Police Service Anniversary in Camp Crame, Quezon City.
“That is why we must regain the trust of the public through more decisive and responsive actions. And I believe the PNP is now on its right track,” the President declared.
The President said the PNP marked several critical milestones this year, particularly its 5-Minute Response Time Strategy.
“Five minutes, just a relatively small window of time, but five minutes can mean the difference between safety and danger; even between life and death,” the Chief Executive said.
President Marcos praised the PNP for effectively running the revitalized Emergency 911 Hotline, which has been instrumental in the swift response to calls for police assistance, intervention, and even search and rescue operations.
The President challenged the PNP to ensure that personnel are always available to answer the public’s call for help, “rain or shine, during ordinary days and more so, in times of crisis.”
“This is how we rebuild the trust–that the police will come, no matter what time, no matter what the circumstance is, they will arrive. We owe our people a system that they can rely on,” President Marcos said.
Before leading the anniversary rites, President Marcos and Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jonvic Remulla attended a demonstration of the 5-Minute Response Time at the monitoring room inside the PNP Command Center.
PNP Chief Gen. Nicolas Torre said that the PNP’s 911 Hotline has received 16 million calls, of which 10 million were “actionable” and given an appropriate response.
In Metro Manila, PNP resolved 94 percent of calls for help in five minutes, Torre said. | PND
