PNP plans to bring back bus marshals amid spate of killings

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief General Benjamin Acorda on Friday said there are plans to bring back bus marshals after the recent spate of killings.

“We have directed our [Deputy PNP Chief for Operations] through [Regional Police Office] to issue directives para (to) initiate measures if we need to bring back ‘yung dati-dating ginagawa ‘yung mga bus marshals we will do that and ah we will coordinate also with the transport buses and also in some areas… lalo ngayon papasok na ang Christmas,” Acorda said in an interview with reporters at the Senate.

The PNP chief made the statement amid the recent killing of two individuals inside a public utility bus in Nueva Ecija.

The incident was one of the cases that the senators raised during the Senate plenary deliberations on PNP’s P196.744 billion proposed budget for 2024.

Acorda, through Senate finance committee chairman Sonny Angara who defended the PNP’s budget, said the recent spate of killings is a “slap on their face.”

Angara disclosed during the plenary deliberations that the number of incidents in 2023 involving the eight focus crimes went down except for the cases of homicide.

From January to October in 2023, the number of homicide cases is at 907 which is higher than the 851 cases recorded during the same period in 2022.

The PNP said “they resolve to work double time” to address the spate of killings in the country. — BAP, GMA Integrated News