​“PNPA @ 33: Nagkakaisa sa Iisang Adhikain na Tahakin ang Matuwid na Landas”

            Maraming salamat po sa malugod ninyong pagtanggap sa inyong lingkod. Ikinagagalak kong paunlakan ang inyong paanyayang makiisa sa inyong pagtitipon. Salamat po at nabigyan tayo ng pagkakataong magdiwang at magsama ngayong araw.

            Over more than three decades, the PNPA and the PNP have evolved tremendously. No one knows this better than the gentlemen gathered here today. Throughout the generations, the police service has focused on the most pressing problems of the time and each one of you will recall the greatest concerns that the government charged you to address, often at great personal cost to yourselves and your families.

            Our times are no different. The entire nation labors seriously to attain its most earnestly awaited goals. The country’s leadership has committed to seeing these changes take root and all of us, most especially the police service, have key roles to play.

            My fellow civil servants,

            Poverty is our greatest challenge and while we know that complete relief will not come suddenly, we now see that peace and prosperity are not just dreams but firm possibilities if all of us continue the work that we have started.

            Poverty is not a question that economics alone can answer. In the course of three decades, you and I have seen that justice and the law hold equally important solutions for our cause. Long-standing issues such as the insurgency were prompted not only by a lack of food and jobs, but more importantly, a shortage of justice for each and every Filipino.

            You are the most visible symbols of that law and justice. You are imbedded in the daily lives of communities nationwide and come into official contact with the public each time your tour of duty begins. This public is what you have sworn to protect and serve, and in this age, the threats you have to protect the citizenry from are far more complicated and sophisticated.

            Human trafficking and cybercrime concern us just as gravely as drugs, robbery and insurgency. The borderless nature of the modern world has given transnational crime a vibrant base from which to penetrate several nations including our own. To succeed in your fundamental mission, you cannot be as good as the forces you fight. You must be better, and you cannot stop working to prevail. If we are to rise to these challenges, we need to go beyond sharpening our technical expertise. We need to win the most crucial battle – the public trust.

            People long to see the badge and the uniform once again become the most unimpeachable guarantee of justice and protection, most especially for the weak. In my soul, I know that those who answered the call of service did so for the noblest of reasons. Those who lose their way are not the majority but sadly, their errors have inflicted an unjust sentence on all who swore your oath.

            Our shortcomings are easier to see and blame, and drown whatever progress our valor has purchased for the nation. But we should never be discouraged. This should only spur us to find more heroic victories, big and small, in our daily service to the people.

            In this light, be role models to the profession you chose and to the nation you serve. Begin in your homes, your communities and your commands. Set the highest possible bar of honest service, discipline and love for country. Never give anyone reason to doubt your integrity and strive to build peace among all men with the same effort you apply to crushing crime.

            Make your men the best they can be. Mentor them to become the best civil servants, officers that the average Filipino will not hesitate to run to for assistance or protection. Help them deal with the trials of police service so that they never fall to temptations. Charge each one with the duty to earn and re-earn the public’s trust every day, wherever their missions take them.

            What I ask of you is not easy but you are aware of the life you chose even before you first donned the uniform. It shall not get any easier as the years pass, but as you face the struggles of the job, we pledge to make your burden more bearable. For while you give up many comforts to be a law enforcement officer, you should never have to surrender your dignity. The government must also do its part to take care of you, just as you take care of the security of our kababayans.

            So as chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, I am happy to report that one of our main projects in the housing sector in 2012 was the housing for members of the AFP and the PNP. In an assessment of the demand for housing of military and police personnel, it was revealed that a large number of our gallant men and women in uniform do not have permanent housing. It was in this light that the AFP/PNP Housing Program was established under Administrative Order No. 9 issued by President Aquino on April 11, 2011 to be administered by National Housing Authority.

            Phase I of the AFP/PNP Housing, which covers 21,800 housing units, was completed during the first quarter of 2012 with the construction of the remaining 6,650 units still on-going. All the 21,800 units were turned over to the AFP and PNP Housing Boards, which are tasked to award them to project beneficiaries.

            Under Phase II of the project, development of 33 housing projects across the country covering 31,200 units was started in August last year. To date, some 7,214 units are under various stages of completion. Personnel of the Bureau of Fire Protection and Bureau of Jail Management and Penology were also included among the beneficiaries.

            We are fully aware of the battles you fight, of what we ask of you, of what our people expect of you. Know that you are neither alone nor forgotten. Our efforts to lighten your load are only the beginning and we shall work to give life to more projects that shall alleviate your plights. As we march towards a beautiful road to peace, development and greatness, the future we build includes the betterment of all. This road will not be free from trials and hurdles but with each one’s commitment, we shall insure that it remains straight and true. The destination will bring fulfillment and in this journey, those who bear the greatest risk to life and limb cannot and will not be left behind.

            This we promise and this we shall together achieve.

            Thank you very much.

            Mabuhay kayong lahat.