MANILA – The Philippine National Police (PNP) will forgo lavish Christmas parties in 2024, redirecting funds to typhoon relief efforts, its chief, Director Maj. Gen. Roderick Alba, announced.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. urged government agencies to avoid extravagant celebrations to show solidarity with Filipinos affected by recent typhoons.
Alba, who heads the PNP Directorate for Police Community Relations (DPCR), told reporters in an interview at Camp Crame on Wednesday, “We appreciate yung instruction na yun because we are in a situation na hindi namin yun priority sa PNP.”
(We appreciate that instruction because we are in a situation where that’s not a priority at PNP.)
“Ever since, hindi namin priority ang celebration because while everybody is celebrating, ang PNP naman ay very busy securing the streets, the communities even on Yuletide season.”
(Ever since, celebration hasn’t been our priority because while everybody is celebrating, the PNP is very busy securing the streets, the communities even on Yuletide season.)
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“We’ll spend it more doon sa mga nasalanta sa bagyo. Susunod kami sa part ng PNP sa instruction,” Alba added.
(We’ll spend more time on those devastated by the typhoon. We will follow the instructions on the part of the PNP.)
Alba added that the DPCR would recalibrate their preparation for the holidays to align with Marcos’ directive and call the attention of units found holding “lavish” parties.
The appeal to refrain from costly celebrations comes in the wake of six consecutive typhoons battering the country: Super Typhoon Pepito (international name: Man-yi), Super Typhoon Ofel (Usagi), Typhoon Nika (Toraji) and Typhoon Marce (Yinxing) this November; and Typhoon Leon (Kong-rey) and Severe Tropical Storm Kristine (Trami) last October.
The combined effects of Pepito, Ofel, and Nika amounted to P1.55 billion in damage to infrastructure and P8.64 million in damage to agriculture, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council’s situational report on Wednesday.
READ: Marcos urges gov’t agencies to avoid lavish Christmas parties this 2024