SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE)

Tied Recs Soot PHILIPPINES } 1B WWL16 P32
Sa the a
Introduced by Senator Grace Poe
AN ACT

AMENDING SECTION 30 OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 6975, OTHERWISE
KNOWN AS THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE, AS AMENDED BY REPUBLIC ACT
NO. 8551, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE PHILIPPINE NATIONAL POLICE
REFORM AND REORGANIZATION ACT OF 1998

Explanatory Note

To employers, screening and assessing employment applications is a time
Consuming, and often a stressful endeavor. To job candidates, the condition is much
worse. The screening processes have become lengthy and the requirements more
Specific, a phenomenon which could lead to "job search fatigue” or the feeling of physical
and mental exhaustion on the part of those looking for jobs. In these cases, the employers
risk of alienating high potential candidates and losing the war for talent.

In the Philippines, employers have preferences for certain demographic attributes
including age, gender, physical attractiveness, and even height, much to the dismay of
the job seekers. Body height is among the widely used criteria to evaluate applicants for
various occupations. To many, height is one of the magus of the development of specific
skills: the taller the personnel are, the more suited they are especially for physically
demanding work.

The country’s police force has long held the notion that “height is might.” Republic
Act No. 6975, otherwise known as the Department of Interiror and Local Government Act
of 1990, mandates that among the "minimum qualifications" for admission in the
Philippine National Police (PNP) is 5 feet 4 inches for men and 5 feet 2 inches for women.
However, this requirement has always been a central issue within the law enforcement
community especially in a country where the average height is only 5 feet 3 inches for
male and 4 feet 11 inches for female.

| Dalizon, A. (Sept. 13, 2017). PNP wants height, age requirement for applicants, Journal Online. Retrieved from
http/swww journal.com.ph/news/nation/pnp-wants-height-age-requirement-for-applicants



Today, the global trend is towards the path where where taliness is no longer
regarded as the symbol for strength, status, and power, but performance does.
Minimum height requirement is already abolished in many parts of the world, including
Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Great Britain, Ireland, and Netherlands,
and some parts of Australia and the United States. Concerns on the discriminatory
effects and non-relation of height to physical fitness are among the reasons cited for its
abolition. 2

This bill therefore seeks to amend the height requirement for police and lower it
to 5 feet and 2 inches for males and 5 feet for females. Height requirements tend to
disproportionately limit employment opportunities for those who want to serve in the
police force.

In an era when peace and order is of paramount concern, the need to recruit
new breeds of competent and smart law enforcers and best applicants for the police
force is urgent.

Immediate approval of this bill is eagerly sought.

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\CE POE

2 Kirchengast, S. (2011). Minimum body height requirements for police officers — an intemational comparison.
SIAK-Joural — Journal for Police Science and Practice (Vol. 1), 52-61. Retrieved from https://www.bmi.gv.at/104/
Wissenschaft_und_Forschung/SIAK-Joumnal/internationalEdition/files/Kirchengast_IE_201 pdf



SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE)
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES —_) i890 16 passe
Third Regular Session ) oo oe

sino. 1876 t--

Introduced by Senator Grace Poe

AN ACT
AMENDING SECTION 30 OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 6975, OTHERWISE
KNOWN AS THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE, AS AMENDED BY REPUBLIC ACT
NO. 8551, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE PHILIPPINE NATIONAL POLICE
REFORM AND REORGANIZATION ACT OF 1998

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Republic of
the Philippines in Congress assembled:

Section 1, Section 30 (H) of Republic Act No. 6975, as amended by Section 14 of
Republic Act No. 8551, is hereby further amended to read as follows:

“SEC. 30. General Qualifications for Appointment - No person shall be appointed
as officer or member of the PNP unless he or she Possesses the following
minimum qualifications:

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(H) must be at least [one-meter-and-sixty-two-centimeters4.62m,)] ONE

METER AND FIFTY-SEVEN CENTIMETERS (1.57m.) OR FIVE FEET AND
TWO INCHES (5’2”) in height for male and [ene—meter—and-fifty-seven
centimeters—{i57m)] ONE METER AND FIFTY-TWO CENTIMETERS
(1.52m.) OR FIVE FEET (5'0") IN HEIGHT for female, EXCEPT FOR
APPOINTEES IN THE TECHNICAL SERVICES WHO MUST BE AT LEAST
ONE METER AND FIFTY-TWO CENTIMETERS (1.52m.) OR FIVE FEET

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(5’0”) IN HEIGHT FOR MALE AND ONE METER AND FORTY-SEVEN
CENTIMETERS (1.47m.) OR FOUR FEET AND TEN INCHES (4'10”) IN
HEIGHT FOR FEMALE;”

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Sec. 2. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - The National Police Commission
and the Philippine National Police shall promulgate the necessary rules and regulations
for the effective implementation of this Act.

Sec. 3. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, executive orders, rules and
regulations, and other issuances or Parts thereof which are inconsistent with this Act are
hereby repealed accordingly.

Sec. 4. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
Publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,