Senate Bill No. 1563, or the PNP, BFP, BJMP, and BuCor Height Equality Act, has been approved on third and final reading by the Senate recently.
“Alam kong madaming naghintay sa bill na ito, kaya natutuwa akong naipasa na namin ito sa wakas,” Senate Majority Leader Migz Zubiri said.
Zubiri is a principal author of the bill, which was sponsored by Senator Bato Dela Rosa.
“I congratulate Sen. Dela Rosa for ably sponsoring this bill for the sake of his fellow PNP servicemen and women.”
“I congratulate Sen. Dela Rosa for ably sponsoring this bill for the sake of his fellow PNP servicemen and women,” the veteran legislator stressed.
The bill amends the minimum height requirements for 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).
Under the bill, height requirements are now 1.57 meters (5 feet and 2 inches) for men and 1.52 meters (5 feet) for women, instead of 1.62 meters (5 feet and 4 inches) and 1.57 meters respectively.
The bill also provides that a waiver for height requirements be automatically granted to applicants belonging to cultural communities/indigenous peoples.
“A good public servant is not defined by sex, age, class, faith—and definitely not by height.”
“A good public servant is not defined by sex, age, class, faith—and definitely not by height. We have so many selfless and patriotic citizens who want to serve the country, but have been institutionally barred from doing so because they’re a few inches short of the standard,” the seasoned lawmaker said. “This is a waste of skill, determination, and passion for service.”
“Adjusting our height requirements by a mere few inches will open up a large pool of promising new public service applicants,” the senator concluded.