MANILA, Philippines — The training service of the national police formally began its orientation for a redesigned marksmanship program Thursday at its headquarters in Camp Crame as police leadership moves to expedite further training for its personnel.
In a statement, the Philippine National Police said that this was part of the agency's new Modified Handgun Qualification Marksmanship program meant to improve the shooting skills of police personnel.
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Police Gen. Camilo Cascolan, chief of the Philippine National Police, said that the program is part of his "PNP Sustainable Development Plan under our strategic roadmap, PNP P.A.T.R.O.L. Plan 2030 on Improving Performance in Crime Prevention & Solution; and Comprehensive Human Resource and Skills Development" thrust as newly-minted police chief.
“My own intention as chief PNP is to develop among all 220,000 police personnel the basic skills set of marksmanship and crime investigation," Cascolan said.
Years ago, the agency itself, along with the interior department's National Police Commission, acknowledged that most cops don't shoot well.
The PNP Directorate for Human Resource and Doctrine Development is expected to release the final measures and directives of the program under the new normal system, though the DHRDD said that the marksmanship training will be conducted in three phases.
Trigger-happy cops?
Cascolan in an earlier press briefing lamented the number of cops who died during anti-drug operations, saying that many of them were still young.
In the same briefing, the police general added that the extra-judicial killings linked to the administration's campaign against illegal drugs did not exist despite the PNP's own data acknowledging at least 5,000 deaths in official anti-drug operations.
Over the coronavirus pandemic, the national police has drawn criticisms of trigger-happy after it figured in the shooting of a former Army veteran whom the NBI later found was unarmed.
Videos of the incident that later circulated on social media showed that the man, 34-year-old army veteran Winston Ragos, was fired at twice—with his back already turned and shoulders slumped by the time the second shot was fired.
Police officers present at the scene can be heard in the video telling Ragos they did not care whether he was armed or not. One cop can audibly be heard saying, "Sige, iputok mo (Go ahead, shoot)."
The Philippine National Police later defended the cops' actions as "following orders."