THE Philippine National Police (PNP) is currently rationalizing the issuance of Police Clearance. The said document is among the usual requirements for job applications and other transactions our citizens have in both private and public organizations.
The current rationalization efforts of the PNP aims to give Police Clearance the value that it should have, in the first place. The document is supposed to contain information on any infraction of the law that a person has.
The current system of the issuance of Police Clearance does not give any assurance that complete information on the infractions or cases of an individual is provided in the document.
A person who had law violations recorded in the PNP station of a particular location can just change his or her place of residence and secure a Police Clearance from the PNP of the new location and he or she will have a “clean” record.
Capitalizing on the available information and communications technology, the PNP leadership initiated the integration of all records so that complete and accurate Police Clearances can be issued.
While this PNP initiative is laudable, it still is not enough when one looks at the totality of the “clearance” system in our country on matters of the citizens’ compliance with laws.
Currently, one has to secure a Barangay Clearance, a Police Clearance, an NBI Clearance, and for government employees, even an Ombudsman’s Clearance.
Why can’t the government, through the Department of Interior and Local Governments or the Department of Justice, integrate all concerned records and cause the issuance of just one clearance?
All concerned government agencies, including barangays, can be required to submit real-time information on any infractions of the law committed by citizens to a secured central database. The system can call for the designation of one agency, such as the PNP, to issue the unified clearance.
This will not only save time, money and effort on the part of the citizens but also optimize the use of the manpower and material resources of other concerned agencies.
The government’s income from “fees” that will be foregone under such system should not be a concern because as government generates revenues to serve the public, this time, the government should be able to forego of revenues to deliver such service to the people.
Such system will illustrate a unified government – one where agencies are not independent from but are interdependent with each other in serving the interest of the people.
