259 Senior Police Officers undergo On-line Leadership Course
CAMP CRAME — Police Deputy Director General Edgardo E Acuña, Chief of Directorial Staff of the Philippine National Police, graced the opening of the Online Leadership and Management Courses for Provincial and City Directors and Chiefs of Police at the PNP Training Service held here yesterday.
The project is in line with the LEAD PNP program of PNP chief Police Director General Jesus A Verzosa in accordance with the PNP Integrated Transformation Program.
There were 259 senior police officers who initially enrolled in the course.
They underwent orientation at the PNP Training Service in 8 groups on August 12, 14, 20, 21, 25, 26, 27 and on September 21, 2009.
They joined the program as PNP/PSMBFI scholars, under a joint Memorandum of Understanding entered into between the Philippine National Police (PNP), Public Safety Mutual Benefit Fund, Inc (PSMBFI) and Tech Advantage Corp (TAC) to enhance the leadership and managerial skills of frontline PNP leaders.
TAC is a private company under Dr. Enrico T Velasco which is engaged in pioneering initiatives in distance learning. It has existing cooperative agreements with University of the Philippine Open University (UPOU) and senior professors from top graduate schools of business in the Philippines such as De la Salle University (DLSU) Graduate School.
Acuña urged the senior officers undergoing the course to actively participate in the program as this will not only benefit them personally but it will also help improve the quality of police services to the people. He also thanked PSMBFI and the other agencies and universities involved in the program for being strong partners of the PNP in its transformation program.
The No. 4 man in the PNP hierarchy also congratulated Calima for introducing the e-learning in the PNP. He said that the PNP top leadership is very confident in the ability of Calima to lead the PNP Training Service. He announced that PNP chief Verzosa has already forwarded to NAPOLCOM the recommendation to upgrade the rank of the PNP Training Service Director to Police Chief Superintendent or the equivalent of a Brigadier General in the military so that Calima can already get his first star. Calima brings with him to his job, his rich and wide range of experience and background in training and education. He is a former Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences of West Negros University. He has a doctoral degree in public administration and is currently working on his dissertation for his doctor in education degree.
After finishing the course, the students will be certified by UPOU as Senior LEADMEN for provincial/ city directors and LEADMEN for chiefs of police.
“This is the future of PNP training where the skills of our policemen are enhanced without them leaving their assignments,” PNP Training Service director Police Senior Superintendent Charles T Calima, Jr., said.