MANILA, Philippines – Iniutos ni Acting Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Police Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. nitong Martes ang law enforcement agency na suriin ang mga patakaran nito sa disability discharge at benefits.
Ito ay matapos utusan ni Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ang Department of National Defense (DND) at ang Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) na repasuhin ang kanilang mga patakaran sa disability discharge matapos mapatalsik sa serbisyo ang isang kapitan ng Army nang mawalan ito ng paningin sa magkabilang mata sa linya ng tungkulin.
“P/Lt. Gen. Nartatez directed the PNP Health Service and the Directorate for Personnel and Records Management to begin an audit of existing disability discharge procedures, focusing on outdated provisions, gaps, and areas for improvement,” ayon sa pahayag ng PNP.
“As part of the review, P/Lt. Gen. Nartatez said the PNP will engage in consultations with the DILG (Department of the Interior and Local Government) and other security agencies to harmonize disability ratings, medical evaluation standards, and benefit computations across the uniformed services,” dagdag nito.
Bagama’t ang pagtuturo ni Marcos ay nakadirekta sa DND at sa AFP, sinabi ng PNP na muling tinasa nito ang sarili nitong disability discharge at mga patakaran sa benepisyo bilang bahagi ng isang “parallel review.”
“We are now looking at our procedures to ensure they are updated, fair, and responsive,” ayon kay Nartatez.
“If a police officer is medically unfit for combat but is still able to work, we want to retain them so they can still contribute meaningfully,” dagdag niya. “We have many tasks that are not field-related but are critical to our operations.”
Napansin ng puwersa ng pulisya na ang mga patakaran nito sa kapansanan ay nakabalangkas sa Seksyon 73 ng Republic Act No. 6975 o ang DILG Act, na nagsasaad: “An officer or non-officer who, having accumulated at least 20 years of active service, incurs total permanent physical disability in line of duty shall be compulsorily retired.”
Nakasaad din sa probisyon na ang kinauukulang opisyal o hindi opisyal ay may karapatan sa separation pay na katumbas ng 125 porsiyento ng kanilang buwanang base pay para sa bawat taon ng serbisyo at longevity pay para sa kani-kanilang permanenteng grado. RNT/MND
