Don’t drink liquor in precincts and in uniform, NAPOLCOM tells cops on Christmas Eve

The National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM) on Wednesday reminded police officers that they can celebrate Christmas inside their offices and police stations – but drinking alcohol is absolutely not allowed.

In a Super Radyo dzBB interview, NAPOLCOM vice chairperson and executive officer Rafael Vicente Calinisan warned that police officers found drinking alcohol while on duty, in their respective offices – and while wearing their police uniforms – will be immediately relieved from their posts.

“Wala naman pong, ‘bawal magsaya, walang bawal magcelebrate,’ dahil lahat tayo nagsasaya ngayong Christmas season. Napaka-importante po ito sa ating mga Pilipino. Pero of course, bawal na bawal po ang pag-inom ng alak sa loob ng presinto. Bawal na bawal po ang pag-inom ng alak habang nakauniporme,” he said.

(There’s nothing wrong with having fun, no one is prohibiting celebrations, because we are all celebrating this Christmas season. It is very important for us Filipinos. But of course it is strictly prohibited to drink alcohol inside the precinct. It is strictly prohibited to drink alcohol while in uniform.)

“Wala pong masamang kumain, magcelebrate. Magduduty po tayo, nandoon sa loob ng presinto. Ano ba naman yung maghain tayo ng konting pagkain? Walang masama doon, puwera lang po ‘yung alak,” he added.

(There’s nothing wrong with eating and celebrating. We are on duty inside the precinct. What’s wrong with serving some food? There’s nothing wrong with it, except for liquor.)

Calinisan’s reminder came on Christmas Eve. His warning also came after a group of police officers in Dolores, Eastern Samar were relieved from their posts for drinking liquor inside their police station.

“Siguro mag-silbing aral po sa lahat ng kapulisan na pwede magsaya pero huwag naman po tayong mag-inuman sa loob ng presinto,” the NAPOLCOM commissioner said.

(We hope this will serve as a lesson to all police officers that having fun is okay, but we should not drink liquor inside the precinct.)

Calinisan recalled that in the past, several police officers faced cases for visiting bars and other similar locations while in uniform.

He added that it is important for police officers to respect the uniform of the Philippine National Police (PNP).

“Gaya nga po ng lagi nating sinasabi, importanteng importante po yung pagiging pulis. ‘Yun pong uniporme ng pulis ay napaka-importante… Respeto sa uniporme. Huwag natin gagamitin sa kakaibang bagay ang uniporme ng PNP,” Calinisan said.

(Like we always say, being a police officer is very, very important. The uniform of a police officer is very important… Respect the uniform. Let us not use the uniform in inappropriate ways.) — JMA, GMA Integrated News