Why PNP chief is so keen on cops’ weight

By Jennifer P. Rendon 

More than penalizing police officers, the imposition of getting the right body mass index (BMI) is all about promoting a healthy lifestyle.

This was the answer of PNP chief General Archie Francisco Gamboa on Monday when asked if there will be sanctions against cops who fail to reach their ideal BMI.

Presently, Gamboa ordered that obese policemen shall not be allowed to go on schooling.

For overweight cops, “it’s okay to go on schooling but before your schooling ends, you should have met the BMI requirement. If not, you won’t graduate,” he said.

Gamboa said he’s doing it to emphasize health lifestyle.

He cited that a good number of policemen, five years after they retire, suffer from health troubles.

“Lahat ng pension nila, doon pupunta. At times, mamamatay pa sila. Hindi man lang nila ma-enjoy ang pinaghirapan nila for the last 30 or 35 years,” he said.

But Gamboa said he will assess if there is a need to impose administrative penalty on fat cops.

Presently, he ordered that every police who is overweight or obese must lose at least 2-3 kilos a month.

Measurements are done every first week of the month. Individual and unit evaluation on compliance with the BMI will also be conducted.

Aside from weight reduction through exercise, the PNP will also suggest proper diet to help meet their BMI.

Recently, the Police Regional Office (PRO)-6 revealed that almost half of its personnel are overweight.

Police Brigadier General Rene Pamuspusan, Western Visayas police chief, said 42.7 percent of PRO-6’s 12,104 personnel are overweight based on their BMIs.

PRO-6 records showed that 6,900 Western Visayas policemen are within the normal BMI while 9 are considered underweight.

BMI measures a person’s weight and height while taking his or her age into consideration.

Using the metric system, it is computed via dividing a person’s weight expressed in kilogram by a person’s height in meters squared (or multiplying the height by itself), or BMI= kg/m².

The BMI is a convenient rule of thumb to broadly categorize a person as underweight, normal weight, overweight, or obese based on tissue mass (muscle, fat, and bone) and height.

The Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO) has the most number of overweight cops – 1,003 of the total 1,799 personnel, or around 55.7 percent. 792 are of normal weight while four are underweight.

On the other hand, 26.2 percent of the PRO-6 regional headquarters’ 2,928 personnel are overweight; Aklan PPO with 45.88 percent; Antique PPO, 48.5 percent; Bacolod City PO, 48.6 percent; Capiz PPO, 48.7 percent; Guimaras, 50.3 percent; Iloilo City PO, 48.14 percent; Negros Occidental PPO, 45 percent; and the Regional Mobile Force Battalion, 38 percent.

But based on the latest record, two personnel who were earlier deemed underweight have already “improved.”

On the other hand, 1,619 overweight police personnel have already “complied,” which means that they were able to shed at least two kilograms per month.