𝑪𝑳𝑨𝑺𝑺 𝑵𝑨𝑴𝑬: “𝑺𝑨𝑵𝑫𝑰𝑮𝑨𝑵 𝑵𝑮 𝑴𝑨𝑴𝑨𝑴𝑨𝒀𝑨𝑵 𝑵𝑨 𝑴𝑨𝒀 𝑺𝑰𝑮𝑨𝑺𝑰𝑮 𝑵𝑨 𝑰𝑻𝑨𝑮𝑼𝒀𝑶𝑫 𝑨𝑵𝑮 𝑲𝑨𝑷𝑨𝒀𝑨𝑷𝑨𝑨𝑵 𝑨𝑻 𝑰𝑷𝑨𝑮𝑳𝑨𝑩𝑨𝑵 𝑨𝑵𝑮 𝑩𝑨𝒀𝑨𝑵”
CLASS HISTORY:
On May 1, 2015, the Philippine National Police Academy welcomed the 40th class of Bachelor of Science in Public Safety. Among the 350 qualified applicants, only 348 reported for the reception rites. After the 45 days of transformation from a civilian to a cadet commonly known as the “breaking period”, only 311 were incorporated with the upperclassmen on June 17, 2015.
Through continued training and learning to be at par with the demands of the academy, the 298 plebes proved that they were worthy of the precious handshakes from the upperclassmen, during their recognition rites on January 16, 2016, with 128 of them being members of Silent Drill Company. Life in the academy is not a piece of cake, as others may have thought. As your rank gets higher, the more responsibilities you have to handle, plus the rigors of having an equilibrium between academics and tactics.
Unfortunately, not all who had passed the phase of being a “plebe” or being a “sheep” are assured of getting straight to being an upperclassman. From the 298 recognized cadets, the number descended to 286 who are able to become the “sheers of the corps” or 3rd class in rank. The “standards of the corps” and “the tigers’ of the corps” as they are referred to, being a third-class cadet is the most challenging stage in a cadet’s life.
They are expected to become the meticulous supervisors of their direct underclassmen. From the tip of their headgear down to the sole of their shoes, everything must be in order and spotless, as the appearance of their underclassmen reflects what kind of upperclassman they are. Only 264 passed through this challenge and made it to become the “stewards of the corps” or 2nd class in rank.
They are the “indirect supervisors” yet take accountability for the plebes as they also play the role of being “squad leaders”. They have to make sure that the 3rd class cadets impart accurate knowledge and skills and appropriate discipline to the 4th class cadets. Moreover, they provide assistance to the ruling class in running the cadet corps as they are the right hand of the first-class cadets.
Quite simple compared to being a 3rd class cadet, but it is not the time to “wait and see” Instead, take action and make innovations because you can never really tell what might happen next. Of the 264 second-class cadets, only 41 of them become members of the elite organization known as the Slow Drill Platoon. Further, at the end of the stewardship period, the 264 decreased to 212.
This phase had the greatest number of casualties in the history of this class. The road to being immaculate is never easy, thus, the class had undergone several training programs inside and outside the academy. These are Public Speaking and Technical Writing under the International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP), Public Safety Intervention Course (PSIC), Firefighting skills training, Search and Counter Insurgency Operations Unit Training (SCOUT), Instructors’ Development Course (IDC) by ICITAP, and Incident Command System (ICS) by the Office of the Civil Defense (OCD).
This class also interacted with its counterpart academy, the Korean National Police University, as well as in the police, fire, and jail facilities in South Korea on October 11-16, 2017. As part of the curriculum, before the 2nd class cadets can finally be declared as 1st class cadets, they have to finish the training programs for their corresponding branch of service under the DILG: Philippine National Police (PNP); Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) and Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP).
On April 10, 2017, until June 9, 2017, the 212 members of Class 2019 underwent Close Quarter Battle for the PNP and BJMP cadets; Emergency Medical Service (EMS) and Basic Firefighting for BFP cadets; and Basic Rescue Technique Course (BRTC) for BFP and BJMP cadets. The 212 cadets reached the peak of a cadet’s life and had finally experienced wearing the “three-striped” shoulder boards and some were entitled to wear their respective ensign.
But all of a sudden, out of the 212 declared 1st class cadets, 11 of them ended their journey as cadets, without having felt the privileges coupled with responsibilities as members of the ruling class. Indeed, this is considered the critical stage among the four classes in the cadet corps. You have the feeling of being “so close yet so far” to your dream of becoming an officer in this country.
You have to be very careful about the decision that you have to make and the move that you have to take, because, with just a single mistake, what you’ve worked for so long can be just blown by the wind. Amidst the obstacles that they have encountered, 201 members of the SANSIKLAB class of 2019 remained steadfast to their dreams.
One hundred thirty-eight (138) cadets are going to be part of the Philippine National Police (PNP), twenty-two (22) cadets for the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), and forty-one (41) cadets for the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP). The administration had made efforts for the class to have training programs and seminars that would enrich their capabilities in their chosen field of service.
Most of the dates in the “BER” months of the year 2018, had been allotted for these training programs: Police Operational Procedure (P.O.P), Anti–Cyber Crime, Interrogation and Investigation Seminar, and Drug Abuse Prevention Education (DAPE) for the PNP cadets; while Basic Jail Intelligence, Financial Management, Values Formation Records Management, and Inmates Classification for the BJMP cadets; and Media Relations, 40-hour Fire Safety Seminar, WMD/CBRNE PMCS Operational Training Course, and Fire Arson Investigation Operations Course (FAIOC) for the BFP cadets.
The first-ever Research Forum of PNPA happened on December 14, 2018, with the theme: “Strengthening Public Safety through Research and Collaboration”. Mind you, the main presenters of this event are all members of the SANSIKLAB class of 2019, who are brave enough to face the criticisms and queries of the panel of judges and the audience as well.
On January 7-26, 2019, the 201 cadets were distributed by organization to their assigned areas for their Cadet Attachment Program (CAP), some are in national headquarters, regional office, and provincial office, but most of them are in the city or municipal stations. In this phase, the cadets are able to apply what they have learned and take the opportunity to discover something that they can use for the betterment of public service.
Source: Philippine National Police Academy
