Republic of the Philippines
House of Representatives
Quezon City, Metro Manila

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

House Bill No. _ 7960

INTRODUCED BY
REP. ALFRED VARGAS

AN ACT
LOWERING THE MINIMUM HEIGHT REQUIREMENT FOR APPLICANTS
OF THE PHILIPPINE NATIONAL POLICE (PNP), BUREAU OF FIRE
PROTECTION (BFP), BUREAU OF JAIL MANAGEMENT AND PENOLOGY
(BJMP), AND BUREAU OF CORRECTIONS (BUCOR), AMENDING
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 6975, AS AMENDED BY REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9263,
AND REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10575, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Philippine National Police (PNP), the Bureau of Fire Protection
(BFP), the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), and the
Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) are important and dignified state agencies
that have long served and protected the Filipino people. As the need for
more noble uniformed personnel arises, its policies and programs for
modernization and recruitment must also be made inclusive even to
competent individuals who do not meet the existing height requirements.

Under our current laws on height prerequisites in these agencies,
Filipinos who wish to serve the country but fail to reach the minimum
height requirement are discriminated and barred from being part of these
noble institutions. Many competent applicants are disqualified because of
these current height requirements in the PNP, BFP, BUMP, and BuCor. As a
result, government service is deprived of competent people to be employed
and included among these ranks.

In September 2020, the Senate has approved on third and final
reading Senate Bill No. 1563 or the “PNP, BFP, BJMP, and BuCor Height
Equality” Bill. This move by our legislators in the Senate is a manifestation
of our commitment to competence and inclusivity for the PNP, BFP, BUMP,
and BuCor. This proposed legislation shall serve as its counterpart measure
in the House of Representatives.


This bill seeks to amend the minimum height requirements for
applicants to the PNP, BFP, BJMP, and BuCor to be more inclusive of
leaders who are equally competent but are hindered from service due to
discriminatory height requirements set in our existing laws. Additionally,
this bill grants applicants belonging to cultural communities or indigenous
peoples waiver for the height requirement.

In view of the foregoing, the immediate approval of this bill is earnestly
sought


Republic of the Philippines
House of Representatives
Quezon City, Metro Manila

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

House Bill No. 7980

INTRODUCED BY
REP. ALFRED VARGAS

AN ACT
LOWERING THE MINIMUM HEIGHT REQUIREMENT FOR APPLICANTS
OF THE PHILIPPINE NATIONAL POLICE (PNP), BUREAU OF FIRE
PROTECTION (BFP), BUREAU OF JAIL MANAGEMENT AND PENOLOGY
(BJMP), AND BUREAU OF CORRECTIONS (BUCOR), AMENDING
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 6975, AS AMENDED BY REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9263,
AND REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10575, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

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

SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "PNP, BFP,
BJMP, and BuCor Height Equality Act."

SECTION 2. Section 30 of Republic Act No. 6975, as amended, is
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:

na) AEXXX...
Gilet beso
Fo) XO
lig) 9, 0,43
fe) «2000
st XK.

Fa), AO.


“h) Must be at least one meter and {sixty-two} FIFTY-
SEVEN centimeters {{1-62-m.} (1.57 M.) in height for male
and one meter and {fifty-seven} FIFTY-TWO centimeters
{4-574} (1.52 M.) for female: PROVIDED, THAT A
WAIVER FOR HEIGHT REQUIREMENT SHALL BE
AUTOMATICALLY GRANTED TO APPLICANTS
BELONGING TO THE CULTURAL COMMUNITIES /
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES;

“After the lapse of the time period for the satisfaction of a specific
requirement, current members of the PNP who will fail to satisfy any of
the requirements enumerated under this Section shall be separated
from the service if they are below fifty (50) years of age and have
served in Government for less than twenty (20) years or retired if they
are from the age of fifty (50) and above and have served the Government
for at least twenty (20) years without prejudice in either case to the
payment of benefits they may be entitled to under existing laws.”

SECTION 3. Section 4 of Republic Act No. 9263, is amended to read as
follows:

Sec. 4. Professionalization and Upgrading of Qualification
Standards in the Appointment of Uniformed Personnel to the BFP and the
BJMP. — No person shall be appointed as uniformed personnel of the BFP
and the BJMP unless he/she possesses the following minimum
qualifications:

B(a)p eae
“(b) XXX...
“(c) XXX...
(a) OK,
“(e) XXX...
Glfijun 29,0, 425)
$(g) EO.

“(h) Must be at least one meter and {sixty-two} FIFTY-
SEVEN centimeters {{1-62-m-}} (1.57 M.) in height for
male, and one meter and {fifty-seven} FIFTY-TWO
centimeters [(1.57 m.)] (1.52 M.) for female: Provided, That
a waiver for height and age requirements shall be
automatically granted to applicants belonging to the


cultural communities/INDIGENOUS PEOPLES; and
“(i) BOOK:

“XXX...

“After the lapse of the time of period for the satisfaction of a specific
requirement, current uniformed personnel of the BFP and the BJMP
who will fail to satisfy any of the requirements enumerated under this
Section shall be separated from the service if they are below fifty (50)
years of age and have served in the government for less than twenty
(20) years, or retired if they are age fifty (50) and above and have served
in the government for at least twenty (20) years without prejudice
in either case to the payment of benefits they may be entitled to
under existing laws.”

SECTION 4. Section 11 of Republic Act No. 10575, is amended to
read as follows:

"Section 11. Professionalization and Upgrading of Qualification
Standards in the Appointment of the BuCor Personnel. —

“(a)__No person shall be appointed as personnel of the BuCor unless
one possesses the following minimum qualifications:

S(O) OK
"(2) XXX...
"(3) XXX...
"(A) XXX...
"(8)-XXX...
"(6) XXX...
iu)

"(8) Must be at least one meter and {sixty-two} FIFTY-SEVEN
centimeters {(1-62-m.}} (1.57 M.) in height for male, and one
meter and {fifty-seven] FIFTY-TWO centimeters {4-57—m-}}
(1.52 M.) for female: Provided, That a waiver for height
and age requirement/s may be granted to applicants
belonging to the cultural communities/INDIGENOUS
PEOPLES: Provided, further, That a new applicant must not be
less than twenty-one (21) or more than forty (40) years of age.
Except for this particular provision, the above-enumerated
qualifications shall be continuing in character and an
absence of any one of them at any given time shall be ground


for separation or retirement from the service: Provided,
furthermore, That those who are already in the service upon
the effectivity of this Act shall be given five (5) years from the date
of such effectivity to obtain the minimum educational
qualification and eligibility with subsidiary assistance as
provided for in this Act.

“(b) XXX...
si) | ORC
“@) The BuCor shall continue training its personnel through its

Personnel Training School, which shall be renamed as Corrections Training
School/Institute patterned after the BJMP's Jail National Training Institute
(JNTI), the Bureau of Fire's Fire National Training Institute (FNTI) and the
PNP's National Training Institute (PNTI)."

SECTION 5. Implementing Rules and Regulations. — Within ninety (90)
days from the effectivity of this Act, the PNP, BFP, BJMP and BuCor, in
coordination with the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the
National Police Commission, the Department of Justice, the Philippine
National Police, the Philippine National Police Philippine National Police
Academy, the Civil Service Commission, and other concerned government
agencies and stakeholders shall formulate the necessary rules and
regulations for the effective implementation of this Act.

SECTION 6. Separability Clause. — If any part, section or provision of
this Act is declared invalid or unconstitutional, the sections or provisions
which are not affected shall remain valid and subsisting.

SECTION 7. Repealing Clause. — All laws, decrees, ordinances, rules,
regulations, other issuances or parts thereof which are inconsistent with
this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly,

SECTION 8. Effectivity Clause. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15)
days after its complete publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper
of general circulation.

Approved,