Bato, Zubiri support bill lowering height requirement for cops

Two senators on Monday lobbied for the passage of a bill seeking to reduce the minimum height requirement for Filipinos aspiring to be part of the uniformed personnel in the country.

Senator Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa sponsored Senate Bill No. 1563 or the proposed Height Equality Act for applicants of the Philippine National Police, Bureau of Fire Protection, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, and Bureau of Corrections.

It seeks to set the minimum height requirement of 1.57 meters (5'2'') for male and 1.52 meters (5'0'') for female applicants.

A waiver for height requirement shall automatically be granted to applicants belonging to the cultural communities and indigenous peoples, according to the bill.

Existing laws require a minimum height of 1.62 meters (5'3'') for male and 1.57 meters (5'2'') for female applicants in the said institutions.

"Sabi sa comercial ng isang margarine, 'Iba na ang matangkad,' ang isang vitamins naman ang sabi 'Tangkad Sagad'... ngunit mukhang kahit gaano karaming margarine ang ating kainin o inumin ang bote-boteng vitamins, mahihirapan tayong maabot ang height ni Lebron James or Michael Jordan," Dela Rosa said.

"Genetically, sadyang may limitasyon ang height nating mga Pilipino," he added.

Dela Rosa said due to the position of the concerned institutions that height is still an important factor in carrying out certain tasks, the bill was designed to just reduce the minimum requirement instead of removing the same as originally proposed.

"Hindi po natin ibinababa ang standard na kailangan para makapagsilbi bilang pulis, firefighter, jail at correction officers. Ninanais lang po natin mabigyan ng pagkakataong makapagsilbi ang mga hindi nabiyayaan ng katangkaran," the former PNP chief said.

Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri supported the bill and shared the sentiments of aspiring law enforcers who were rejected because they did not meet the height qualification.

"Nakaka-low morale po at nakaka-discriminate po ito sa amin. Parang pinagkakaitan po kami ng pagkakataon na maglingkod at magsilbi sa sarili naming bayan," he read a message.

A bill seeking to remove the minimum height requirement for uniformed personnel was vetoed by President Benigno Aquino III in 2013. — DVM, GMA News