PNP restructuring into ‘four pillars’ eyed —Remulla 

Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla said on Monday that there are plans to reorganize the Philippine National Police (PNP) into what he called “four pillars”, which would also professionalize the roles of policemen in their designated offices. 

Remulla shared the plans after Marikina 2nd district Rep. Miro Quimbo said that the DILG and the PNP should give more attention to addressing cybercrimes, particularly the proliferation of fake news. 

“Sana lang mas bigyan pa natin ng atensyon ito, because the only way for us to curb fake news, yung constant distribution of all these destructive information, mahihinto lang kapag may enforcement. So nasa kamay talaga ng DILG at ng PNP ang usapin ng pagpipigil ng cybercrime,” said Quimbo during the House Committee on Appropriations’ hearing on the DILG’s proposed budget for 2026. 

(I hope we give this more attention, because the only way for us to curb fake news , the constant distribution of all this destructive information, is to have enforcement. So the issue of preventing cybercrime is really in the hands of the DILG and the PNP.) 

In response, the DILG chief said that dealing with cybercrimes is among the targets for the planned restructuring of the police body. 

“Part of the PNP reform that we are proposing is that the PNP be broken down into four pillars - administration, the detective work, operations, and cybercrime,” said Remulla.

“The problem with our current setup, because there is no specialization in the PNP, members of the cybercrime group are there only for two years then they leave….Technology evolves very rapidly, so I’d like there to be a specialization in the PNP and we will try to  introduce the reform legislation to that effect.” 

The current organizational structure of the PNP is composed of the national offices, regional offices, provincial offices, district offices, and city and municipal stations. 

The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and the Anti-Cybercrime Group are among the 15 operational support units of the PNP. 

Remulla said that the current structure of the PNP has led to policemen who are “jack of all trades” or doing duties that are not their specialization. 

“Ang nangyayari dito ‘jack of all trades’ ang mga pulis. So yung hindi naman trained sa detection, nagpupunta ng CIDG kasi may nakikitang promotion na pwede. So we would like to professionalize the PNP by making the four pillars a permanent structure,” he said. 

(What happens here is that the police officers are ‘jack of all trades.’ So those who aren't trained in detection go to the CIDG because they see a possible promotion. So we would like to professionalize the PNP by making the four pillars a permanent structure.) —LDF, GMA Integrated News