Philippines: Overweight cops get 12 months to meet weight standards or lose jobs

Khaleej Times

5 hours ago

Police officers who are overweight have one year to meet physical fitness standards or risk losing their jobs, according
Speaking in a radio interview, Gen. Nicolas Torre III Torres emphasised his commitment to enforcing health and fitness requirements across the Philippine National Police (PNP).
'After one year, there will be a separation from the service," the PNP chief warned.
Torre cited Republic Act 6975, also known as the Department of the Interior and Local Government Act, which mandates that officers maintain a weight no more or less than 5kg from the standard based on their height, age, and sex.
"The standard weight will adjust automatically because one's build is taken into consideration. So you cannot say that you're overweight just because you're bigboned," Torres underscored.
He also noted that the qualifications for police officers listed in the law are 'continuing in nature and failure in any one of them can be a cost for termination".
"We have regulations for that. They will be given one year to comply with the standard," the PNP chief added.
40 push-ups required
To support physical fitness, police officers working the 8am to 5pm shift are now allowed to end their workday at 3pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so they can engage in their chosen fitness routines. Personnel on frontline duties, however, must find their own time to exercise.
The PNP chief also added that officers should also be able to perform at least 40 push-ups — or face dismissal.
"The reckoning will come during the physical fitness test. We won't show any mercy there," he said.
He also warned that if he gets suspicious and he encounters someone who supposedly passed the test, but couldn't do 40 push-ups when asked, he will "find out who approved his results — and both will be dismissed".
Fitness as core standard
Torre, the PNP's 31st chief, has made physical fitness a cornerstone of his leadership — one that applies to everyone from senior officials down to rank-and-file patrol officers.
"It is incumbent upon every police officer to maintain a physical appearance acceptable for a police officer,' said PNP spokesperson Brigadier General Jean Fajardo.
Fajardo encouraged officers to start monitoring their Body Mass Index (BMI), which is computed by dividing a person's weight in kilos by the height in meters squared.
For officers dealing with health issues, the PNP chief said they are exploring two options: either a full disability discharge or reassignment to administrative roles.
The PNP leadership also plans to consult the National Police Commission (Napolcom) regarding proper handling of personnel with medical conditions that affect their weight or fitness levels.
'The directive does not dictate how you are going to lose weight, but of course, we will give considerations,' Fajardo said.
Not the first time
This isn't the first time fitness has been pushed within the police force.
In 2000, then-PNP chief and now Senator-elect Panfilo Lacson also introduced strict standards, famously saying no policeman should have a waistline exceeding 34 inches. His rationale: physical fitness helps project discipline — and a fat policeman 'gave the illusion' of being more prone to corruption.
Back then, officers were given only a few months to comply, triggering a wave of fitness programs and mandatory workouts. Even senior officers found themselves under scrutiny, with at least one high-ranking official scolded by Lacson for missing a scheduled fitness test.