WHEREAS,
Presidential Decree Nos. 421, 482, 531, 585 and 641 have provided for
the integration of municipal/city police and fire departments and jails
into law-enforcement units known as the Metropolitan Police Force in
Greater Manila Area and provincial integrated police forces in the
provinces, in order that they may be cohesively organized, better
coordinated and effectively directed; chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS, these integrated police forces have been placed under
the operational control of the Philippine Constabulary, and the
administrative control over them shall also be vested in the latter
after a transition period as provided for in the aforementioned Decrees;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS, the Philippine Constabulary is the existing and organized
national police force of the country pursuant to Commonwealth Act No.
343 dated June 23, 1938 and Executive Order No. 389 dated December 23,
1950; and the Philippine Constabulary has integrated the said police
forces into its operational and organizational setup in
consonance with the abovecited Decrees;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS, Section 12, Article XV of the Constitution provides that the
state shall establish and maintain an integrated national police force
whose organization, administration and operation shall be provided by
law;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Republic
of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the
Constitution, do hereby order and decree as part of the laws of the
land the following: chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Section 1. Constitution of the Integrated
National Police. — There is hereby established and constituted
the Integrated National Police which shall be composed of the
Philippine Constabulary as the nucleus, and the integrated police
forces as established by Presidential Decrees Nos. 421, 482, 531,
585 and 641, as components, under the Department of National Defense.
Section 2. Jurisdiction of the Integrated
National Police. — The Integrated National Police shall be
responsible for public safety, protection of lives and properties,
enforcement of laws and maintenance of peace and order within the
territorial limits of the Philippines. It shall have the power to
prevent crimes, effect and arrest of criminal offenders and
provide for their detention and rehabilitation, take necessary measures
to prevent and control fires, investigate the commission of all
crimes and offenses and bring the offenders to justice, and take all
necessary steps to insure public safety.
Section 3. Head of the Integrated National Police. —
The Head of the Integrated National Police, to be known as
Director-General, shall be the Chief of Constabulary, and as such, he
shall have command of all elements thereof. He may issue from time to
time such detailed instructions regarding personnel, funds, records,
property, correspondence, and such other matters as may be necessary to
carry out the provisions of this Decree. In the performance of his
functions as Director-General, the Chief of Constabulary shall be
assisted by the Deputy Chiefs of Constabulary, the general staff and
the special, administrative and technical staffs of the Philippine
Constabulary. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Section 4. Organization of the Integrated
National Police. — The Chief of Constabulary shall
prescribe, subject to the approval of the Secretary of
National Defense, the table of the organization and equipment,
ranks and/or position titles, functions, duties and powers of the
various staffs, services, installations and other units of the
Integrated National Police; Provided, That the different
headquarters of the Philippine Constabulary in the national,
zone/regional and provincial levels shall be the nuclei of the
corresponding headquarters of the Integrated National Police;
Provided, further, That the appropriate offices in the different
headquarters, levels may be jointly staffed by the Constabulary,
police, jail and fire service officers and personnel so that an
integrated police and public safety services would be effectively
discharged. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Section 5. The Philippine Constabulary as a
Major Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. — The
Philippine Constabulary as presently organized and constituted shall
remain and continue to be a major service of the Armed Forces of
the Philippines in addition to its current law-enforcement
functions as the principal component of the Integrated National
Police.
Section 6. Status of the Regular Members of the
Integrated National Police. — The regular members of the Integrated
National Police shall be employees of the National Government;
Provided, That the policemen, jail guards and firemen of the Integrated
National Police shall be exempt from the operation of the Wage and
Position Classification Office and its rules and regulations under
Section 9 of Republic Act No. 2260, otherwise known as the Civil
Service Act of 1959, as amended: Provided, however, That they
shall be included in the career service category of the Civil
Service.
Section 7. Authority of the President of the
Philippines over the Integrated National Police. — In the
exercise of its power to maintain peace, law, order and public
safety, the Integrated National Police shall be subject to the
command and general supervision of the President of the
Philippines and shall function directly under the Department of
National Defense.
Section 8. Transfer of the National Police
Commission to the Department of National Defense. — The National
Police Commission, whose officials and personnel shall be
exempt for the operation of the wage and position classification laws
and regulations, is hereby transferred to the Department of
National Defense, whose Secretary shall concurrently act as
Chairman thereof; Provided, That such transfer shall not involve any
diminution in the present salary of the officials and personnel of
the Commission, except for cause as provided by law.
Section 9. Transfer of Administrative Supervision
and Control. — The power of administrative supervision and
control by the city and municipal governments over their
respective local police forces, jails and fire departments as defined
under existing laws and charters, notwithstanding the transition
periods provided in the abovementioned Decrees on integration,
shall be transferred to, and exercised by the Chief of
Constabulary as Director-General of the Integrated National
Police; Provided, That the powers and functions of the National Police
Commission in the training of policemen, the establishment of the
integrated police communication system, the grant of police
salary, subsidy, and the adjudication and grant of compensation
for temporary disability benefits, shall be transferred to the
Integrated National Police, including all appropriate personnel and
staff, records and equipment and other resources appertaining
thereto; Provided, however, That all the powers and functions
presently vested in and exercised by the National Police Commission
which are not otherwise transferred to the Integrated National
Police by this Decree shall remain with and continue to be
exercised by the National Police Commission; Provided, further,
That the present powers and functions of the National
Police Commission relating to the attestation of
appointments, examination, investigation, adjudication and review
of police administrative disciplinary cases, adjudication and grant of
compensation for permanent disability and death benefits, staff
inspection and audit, shall extend to the firemen and jail guards;
Provided, finally, That all the present powers and functions of the
National Police Commission over local police agencies shall extend to
the police, fire and jail components of the Integrated
Police, unless otherwise provided herein.
Section 10. Jurisdiction of the Hearing Officers,
Adjudication Boards, and Special Appellate Committee of the National
Police Commission. — The jurisdiction of the Hearing Officers of
the National Police Commission to investigate administrative complaints
against members of the police force and their claims for permanent
disability and death benefits, the jurisdiction of the Adjudication
Boards to decide such cases and that of the Special Appellate Committee
of the Commission to review decisions and dismissals rendered by
the Boards, shall likewise embrace firemen and jail guards.
Section 11. Power to issue Subpoena/Subpoena
Duces Tecum. — The Chief of Constabulary or the subordinate
official he may authorize, shall have the power to issue subpoena
and subpoena duces tecum in connection with the investigation of cases
cognizable by the Integrated National Police. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Section 12. Chief of Constabulary to Promulgate
Rules and Regulations. — The Chief of Constabulary shall, with the
approval of the Secretary of National Defense, promulgate the necessary
rules and regulations for the effective implementation of this Decree.
Section 13. Penal Provision. — Any person who
obstructs or interferes with the implementation of this Decree or
of the rules and regulations promulgated by the Chief of Constabulary
in accordance herewith directly or indirectly, upon conviction, shall
suffer imprisonment of not less than three years nor more than six
years and/or a fine of not less than five thousand pesos, but not more
than ten thousand pesos at the discretion of the court.
When the offender is a public officer or employee, he may, in addition
be disqualified from holding public office or employment for life.
Section 14. Provisions of Earlier Decrees on
Integration Applicable. — All provisions of Presidential Decrees Nos.
421, 482, 531, 585, 632, and 641, unless inconsistent herewith, are
applicable to the Integrated National Police.
Section 15. Repealing Clause. — The provisions of
Republic Act No. 4864, otherwise known as the Police Act of 1966, as
amended by Presidential Decrees No. 1, dated September 22, 1972; No.
12, dated October 3, 1972; No. 12-A dated October 4, 1972; No. 12-B,
dated October 28, 1972; No. 170 dated April 4, 1973; No. 421, dated
March 21, 1974; No. 448, dated May 9, 1974; No. 482, dated June 13,
1974; No. 531, dated August 8, 1974; No. 580, dated November 13, 1974;
No. 585, dated November 18, 1974; No. 641, dated January 21, 1975; the
provisions of the charters of all cities; and the pertinent provisions
of the Revised Administrative Code, as amended, as well as all
other provisions of existing laws, executive orders, rules
and regulations which are inconsistent herewith are hereby
repealed or modified accordingly.
Section 16. Transitory Clause. — Prior to the
promulgation of the rules and regulations implementing Section 9 hereof
by the Chief of Constabulary as approved by the Secretary of
National Defense, the city and municipal governments shall continue to
provide the usual funds and logistical support under existing laws to
their respective city and municipal police forces, jails and fire
departments, including the payment of salaries, allowances and benefits
to personnel; and likewise, the National Police Commission shall
continue to grant salary subsidies under existing laws during the
interregnum.
Section 17. Effectivity. — This Decree shall take
effect upon approval.
Done in the City of Manila,
this 8th day of August, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred
and seventy-five.
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