THE Philippine National Police (PNP) is once again implementing the tattoo ban for its personnel and aspiring police officers.
PNP chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil previously lifted the moratorium on the proposal, according to PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo in an interview.
“On July 3, the chief PNP approved the removal of the moratorium. This means that the guidelines will be enforced, particularly the prohibition of tattoos, especially for those entering the PNP. Definitely, applicants interested in joining the PNP service via recruitment, lateral entry, or even the PNP Academy (PNPA) cannot join the PNP and PNPA,” Fajardo said.
The PNP had earlier suspended the tattoo ban due to the request of some police officers and the PNP Health Service (HS) to review the declarations submitted by active police officers with tattoos.
Fajardo mentioned that the information from the declarations will become part of the police officers’ health profile, and they will be given three months to remove the visible tattoos.
However, she noted that the PNP’s technical working group has not yet issued guidelines on the removal of visible tattoos.
She stated that police officers will have to bear the expenses for tattoo removal since the PNP Health Service does not have the necessary resources for this.
Police officers who fail to comply with the three-month tattoo removal requirement will undergo an investigation and may face administrative charges.
“If there are medical reasons, probably, he will be given ample time to comply but for those who would refuse without justifiable reason then it is clearly stated in the circular that they may be subject to administrative sanctions,” Fajardo said.
