As part of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directive to make streets safer, Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief General Nicolas Torre III said Tuesday that police officers who fail to act during public disturbances, especially those seen on social media, will be sent back for retraining.

“Ang aming sistema ngayon—iyong sa Facebook, sa mga social media, may nakikita tayong mga nag-aaway na dalawang tao sa harap ng pulis. Walang arestong ginawa ang pulis. May nag-rambol, may nag-riot tumalikod pa ang pulis. Sa mga ganyang situation ang pulis na natin mismo ay ating ibabalik sa training. Ite-train ko sila,” PNP chief P/Gen. Nicolas Torre III said in a Malacanang press briefing on Wednesday.

Torre said a training program is in the works for police officers to gain new knowledge and skills in police intervention

While the regular beat cop is in for training, his ground commander or chief of police will be facing administrative charges, he said.

“Ang chief of police ng pulis na iyan na pupunta sa training, iyon ang aking aasuntuhin for failure to supervise their people, for failure to train your people properly, and for failure to actually be with their people, sila ang pai-explainin ko. Administrative case iyon, failure to supervise iyon, command responsibility,” Torre said.

“Para magawa nila (ground commanders) ang trabahong iyon, maiwasan nila ang trabahong iyon, eh mag-inspection sila kahit hindi sila utusan. Siguraduhin nila na ang mga tao nila ay nagtatrabaho in accordance to the professional standards,” he added.

Torre said that he, too, will conduct inspections from time to time, although that job is typically assigned to ground commanders.

He assured all police officers that they have nothing to worry about with him as PNP chief—as long as they do their best, saying that in the past, several police officials and even non-commissioned officers willingly followed him across various assignments nationwide, a testament to the trust and rapport he has built over the years. | PND