Police stations considered as squatters

MANILA, Philippines - Two-thirds of police stations nationwide is considered squatting on private lands. Out of the 1,600 police stations, only 30% is legally owned by the Philippine National Police (PNP), an official said. Senior Superintendent Cristino Campanilla, chief of the Directorate for Engineering Services, said 1,120, or 70% of the total police stations nationwide, are sitting on lands not owned by the PNP. "We have yet to acquire certificates of land ownership for the police stations that have been constructed, although they already have deeds of donations from the local governments, due to the harrowing process that land certification process entails," he said in an ambush interview after the PNP’s weekly forum "Talakayan sa Isyung Pulis." The rest, or 480 stations, are built on lands registered to the PNP, he said. Mr. Campanilla said that the transfer of land titles from local government units (LGUs) to the PNP normally takes two years. "If we will wait for that period, the operations of the PNP will suffer. So once we get the deed of donation from the LGUs, we start with the construction of the police stations immediately," he said. Mr. Campanilla told BusinessWorld there are times when private individuals donate lands adding the process of land transfer is relatively faster when the deed of donation comes from the private sector. Mr. Campanilla said the construction cost of police stations is equally split between the LGUs and the PNP. The private sector usually offers the land for free. — Jhoanna Frances S. Valdez, BusinessWorld