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By Jeannette I. Andrade,
Reporter
POLICE officers who have their
own homes “make better law enforcers,” the reason the Philippine
National Police (PNP) has intensified its housing project.
The PNP Housing Board is working
to put roofs over the heads of more than 67,000 police officers,
most of whom are in Metro Manila, in a bid to build a more efficient
force.
Avelino Razon, PNP’s deputy
director for administration and chairman of the PNP Housing Board,
said on Wednesday that giving police officers peace of mind by
securing their future would “make them better law enforcers.”
Razon said that based on an
October 2006 survey among PNP personnel, only 51,266 police
officers, or 41 percent of the 118,714-member force own house and
lots. That would classify 67,488 personnel, or 59 percent as
squatters or informal settlers.
Still, most of the homeless
policemen “perform laudably.” “Imagine what more our personnel
could do if his housing need is attended to,” he said.
To address the housing problem
and ease the constant fear of homeless cops of getting evicted, the
PNP has linked up with private land developers, government shelter
agencies and nongovernmental organizations to start a housing
program for them.
The PNP has tapped the services
of Gawad Kalinga and sought the help of Vice-President Noli de
Castro, who also heads the Housing and Urban Development
Coordinating Council (HUDCC), to get the program going. The PNP has
also signed a memorandum of agreement with the Home Development
Mutual Fund (HDMF) for a housing-loan program for police personnel.
The PNP is also looking at
numerous vacant lots in police camps as housing sites.
Razon said the Housing Board has
simplified procedures for acquiring a house to enable PNP personnel
to own a house with no equity, a smaller down payment or spreading
the payments over a longer period.
The first housing for cops
project was the Pulis-Kalinga facility in Camp Macabulos, Tarlac,
under the Police Regional Office 3 where 125 police personnel were
awarded land titles Friday. Another is the Pulis-Kalinga quartering
project in Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan, Taguig.
Speaking before policemen led by
the PNP chief, Director General Oscar Calderon, during the awarding
of housing units and certificates of award in Camp Macabulos, de
Castro said providing shelter to homeless police officers is one of
his priorities.
“How I wish I can provide
houses to more policemen before I leave HUDCC,” he said.
De Castro said policemen would be
more focused in their job if they know that their families have
houses they can call their own.
--With Francis Earl A. Cueto
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