UPD Police to cease operations, says chief

The University of the Philippines Diliman Police (UPDP) may cease to roam the campus in the future, disclosed the officer-in-charge of the UPDP.

From a roster of over 150 officers in the 70s, Major Bernie Baltazar said the UPDP has shrunk to 46 in 2009.

He said the UP administration is no longer recruiting officers to replace retiring ones in compliance with RA 7430, also known as the Attrition Law. Section 3 of the said law states that “no appointment shall be made to fill vacated positions in any government office as a result of resignation, retirement, dismissal, death or transfer to another office of an officer or employee.”

Exceptions to this rule are heads of government units, positions with expertise vital to the unit concerned, positions difficult to fill due to their qualifications and positions in understaffed agencies, local government units, Congress and the Judiciary, as stated in the law.

Presidential appointments, teaching personnel, and positions where the replacement comes from existing employees are also exempted from the provision. Baltazar stated that while teachers’ and doctors’ posts can be filled once vacated, the Attrition Law does not allow UPDP officers to be replaced when they reach retirement.

Their youngest officer is already in his thirties, he revealed. Baltazar himself is 60 years old; in five years he will have to undergo compulsory retirement at the age of 65. He has been with UPDP for 34 years.

In a memo issued by Vice Chancellor for Community Affairs Cynthia Grace Gregorio, the UPDP, SSB and security guards are tasked to act upon robbery, theft, fraternity rumbles and similar incidents. ▪

Article by Alexandra Gabrielle Francisco