Bill requiring annual psychiatric, drug tests for cops filed in Senate

A bill requiring annual exams to ensure the mental and physical fitness of police officers in the country has been filed in the Senate.

Senate Bill No. 2005, authored by Senator Imee Marcos, mandates all members of the Philippine National Police to undergo psychiatric, psychological, drug, and physical tests.

Under the existing law, these tests are only given during recruitment, promotion, and when directed by a supervisor, according to the senator.

The bill also requires police officers who are exposed to traumatic situations to be subjected to stress debriefing to prevent mental health disorders among the workforce.

Marcos' proposed measure was filed a couple of weeks after the Police Master Sergeant Jonel Nuezca fatally shot his unarmed neighbors in Tarlac over an altercation.

Nuezca has been dismissed from police service, and is now facing murder charges.

"This, together with several other police-related crimes in the recent years, caused fear, shock, and anger among the populace, besmirching the image of the Philippine National Police as the protector of the people," she said in the explanatory note of the bill.

She added that while these may be considered isolated cases, the mental and physical well-being of police officers should be given careful attention. — BM, GMA News