More professionals from various fields are seen to join the Philippine National Police (PNP), according to National Police Commission (Napolcom) Vice Chairman and Executive Officer (VCEO) Vitaliano N. Aguirre II on June 15, 2021. The announcement came after the commission en banc, headed by Napolcom Chairman and the Interior Secretary Eduardo M. Año, approved Napolcom Resolution 2021-0612.
The resolution grants the Chief PNP with authority to recruit doctors, lawyers, and IT experts for lateral entry to the police service to fill the 434 vacancies in the police organization for the ranks of Police Captain and Police Lieutenant under the calendar year (CY) 2021 Lateral Entry Program for Technical Officers.
“The PNP Lateral Entry Program is aimed to strengthen the human resource and technical capability of the police organization in managing present and future challenges,” Vice Chairman Aguirre said.
Aguirre added that the recruitment of the Medical Officers and Medico-Legal Officers is intended to augment the present medical work force of the PNP mobilized to address the current pandemic. They will also be utilized to speedily resolve forensic cases and facilitate medical processes.
Meanwhile, the hiring of legal officers is the PNP’s response to the government’s relentless campaign against criminalities, which require the support of dedicated lawyers in every PNP office/unit.
IT Officers to be appointed are expected to further strengthen the PNP’s information technology capability in order to meet the technological and digital communication requirements of the police service under the so-called new normal.
Aguirre stressed that the PNP shall only process applicants for positions which are identified by the PNP with career path; those who are included in the Index of Occupational Services, Occupational Groups, Classes and Salary Grades of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM); and those with approved qualification standards by the Napolcom and confirmed by the Civil Service Commission.
“The PNP is enjoined to strictly observe the existing guidelines and procedures in the processing of Lateral Entry applicants,” Aguirre pointed out.
The quota distribution for the vacancies are as follows: 163 Medical Officers for the Health Service; 20 Medico-Legal Officers for the Crime Laboratory; 100 Legal Officers for the Legal Service; 100 Information Technology Officers for the Information Technology Management Service; and 51 IT Officers for the Anti-Cybercrime Group.