SENATOR RONALD "BATO" DELA ROSA
Ratification: Bicameral Conference Committee Report
PNP Reorganization

Mr. President, I have the honor of submitting for ratification the Bicameral Conference Committee Report on the Disagreeing Provisions of Senate Bill No. 2449 and House Bill No. 8327 that seeks to provide organizational reforms to the Philippine National Police.

Instead of reading the entire Joint Explanatory Statement of the Bicameral Conference Committee Report, may I be allowed to present the highlights of the reconciled bill and the Joint Explanation be inserted and considered read into the records:

First, Mr. President, the conferees agreed to use the Senate version as the working draft;

Second, as part of the mandate of the Philippine National Police Academy, we included a provision wherein, as far as practicable, the PNPA shall recruit cadets representing all provinces in the country;

Third, to maximize the technical expertise of PNP officers who joined the service through lateral entry, said technical officers shall be authorized to be assigned to positions related to their technical expertise outside of the office or unit where they were accepted;

Lastly, coinciding with the National Women's Month celebration, we expressly provided in the bill that the National Administrative Support Unit Women and Children Protection Group shall be headed by a female director with the rank of Police Brigadier General.

Mr. President, despite the fact that I am a bit vocally challenged today, I will not pass up the opportunity to speak, if only to thank this august body as well as our counterparts at the House of Representatives. Finally, it looks like the Philippine National Police can now say: time is on their side.

Today's ratification of the Bicameral Conference Committee Report on the PNP Organizational Reforms Act proves, if anything, that I am not alone. I am not alone in seeing the urgency of this measure, and acting on it. Together with the Senate conferees, Senators Bong Revilla, JV Ejercito, Tol Tolentino, Allan Cayetano, Bong Go, and Senate Minority Floor Leader Senator Koko Pimentel, we believe we have crafted a measure that more faithfully reflects the needs of the PNP. Not only that, it also equips our beloved agency with the legislative imprimatur that they require in order to be more effective, more efficient, in carrying out their mandate to serve and protect.

I heard something on the grapevine, Mr. President. May iilan daw na hindi na umasang gagalaw pa ang panukalang ito. Marahil akala nila mananatili na lamang na isang pangarap ang pagsasabatas ng mga kinakailangang reporma sa PNP. A pipe dream, so to speak.

But today we dream no longer. This Congress and its composition has made all the difference, Mr. President. I am proud to say that we have made all the difference. Today we are even closer to turning this dream into a reality.

In a manner of speaking, Mr. President, now it is all just a matter of time.

MOTION: With that Mr. President, I respectfully move that we approve the Conference Committee Report on the Disagreeing Provisions of Senate Bill No. 2449 and House Bill No. 8327 as submitted.

Senate President Migz Zubiri: Thank you very much, our distinguished colleague. I'd like to congratulate you for all the hard work that you've done. Pagkatapos nitong araw na ito, pirma na lang ng Pangulo ang kulang. Iyon na lang. Congratulations.

Majority Leader Joel Villanueva: Mr. President, we join our distinguished colleague, the hardworking senator from Davao and Bohol, Senator Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa, in moving for the approval and the ratification on the Bicameral Conference Committee Report on the Disagreeing Provisions of Senate Bill No. 2449 and House Bill No. 8327 and let the text of the joint explanation be deemed read into the records of this august chamber. I so move, Mr. President. Senate President Migz Zubiri: There being no objection to the motion, the Bicameral Conference Committee Report on the Disagreeing Provisions of Senate Bill No. 2449 and House Bill No. 8327 is hereby approved and ratified. Congratulations once again to the sponsor.