(Eagle News) — The Philippine National Police has expressed support for a House bill that limits the population of each urban barangay in the country to 15,000.
In backing House Bill 6686 filed by Rep. Ace Barbers, PNP spokesperson Bernard Banac noted the “better prospects for public safety and law enforcement” the limit in place.
He also noted that the bill will “enable the smallest unit of local government with a uniform standard of governance to enforce local ordinances.”
“The proposed measure also syncs well with modern policing systems aided by technology that factors geographical information and demographics with crime data as bases for deployment of forces,” he said, adding that a long-term implementation of the measure if passed into law would also support the government’s program to decongest urban areas.
The bill seeks to amend Section 386 of The Local Government Code of 1991.
The provision imposes a minimum requirement of 2,000 inhabitants for the creation of a barangay, and a minimum of 5,000 residents for each barangay in Metro Manila and highly-urbanized cities.
“In times of disasters and emergency situations, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, where barangay officials are expected to be the first responders, barangays with high population density experienced more difficulties in reaching out to their constituents,” Barbers had said.
He said if his proposal was enacted into law, government assistance and programs in the grassroots level can be carried out faster and easier, “particularly in the implementation of the National ID system and during natural or man-made calamities, including pandemics like the COVID-19.”