Senator Grace Poe files bill allowing K-12 graduates to enter the police force
Senator Grace Poe files bill allowing K-12 graduates to enter the police force
Senator Grace Poe-Llamanzares has refiled the old Senate Bill No. 1486
as Senate Bill No. 1074, or An Act Broadening the Opportunities of Filipino Youth by Allowing Graduates of K-12 Enhanced Education in the Philippine National Police, amending PNP Law RA 6975 as amended by RA 8551.
The
bill was refiled on August 8, 2022, and it was first read and referred to the
Committees on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs and Basic Education on September
6, 2022.
The
K-12 enhanced education program was designed, among others, to solve the
ballooning unemployment in the country by arming students with true mastery of
basic competencies and necessary skills to enter into the workforce.
Below is the bill allowing K-12 graduates to join the PNP.
Sen.
Poe in her explanatory note said “Less
than half of all high school graduates finish college and even less earn a
baccalaureate degree due to financial constraints. Graduates of the k12
program, however, we’re assured that they stand a chance even without a college
degree.”
To
simplify, the bill seeks to level the playing field for the children of poor
families who cannot afford to send them to college by lower the educational
requirement for PNP applicants.
Under
Republic Act 8551, the PNP only accepts college graduates with eligibility for
recruits. Through this measure, graduates of the k-12 program may be admitted
to the Philippine National Police (PNP), PROVIDED
THAT the applicant passes all the examinations, including the entrance test
administered by the National Police Commission.
Applicants
are still required to adhere to the PNP’s general qualifications, which include
the Body Mass Index (BMI) height, weight, and age requirement, among others.
To
all college graduates especially Criminology students/graduates, what are your
thoughts on this? Feel free to comment on this proposed law filed by Senator
Grace Poe.