The fitness policy adopted by the Philippine National Police leadership is a win-win situation for all – except the criminals.

Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson stressed this Tuesday as he lauded the PNP, which he headed from 1999 to 2001, for keeping alive what he considers his best legacy to the institution.

“I would like to think the best legacy I left in the police institution was the discipline that I instilled in my policemen who I enjoined to stop huffing and puffing with big bulging tummies. Instead, they maintained a maximum waistline of 34 inches so they would be trim and thin when they chased robbers and other criminals,” Lacson said.

He was referring to the policy of PNP officer-in-charge P/Lt. Gen. Archie Gamboa to deny police officers schooling for promotion if they do not comply with fitness requirements.

Lacson, who as PNP chief personally led his men in physical fitness regimens, said the police personnel would benefit by way of being healthier. “Para sa kanila yan,” he said.

“For many pot-bellied police officers, their waistlines were reduced to a point that they became proud and confident of wearing their police uniforms once more,” he added.

But most importantly, he said the sight of fit and trim police officers pounding their beats would instill confidence in the public.

Lacson said this policy should be combined with intensified internal cleansing efforts to make sure rogue police personnel who betray their oaths “to serve and protect” are punished.

“If we have policemen and policewomen who are physically and morally fit, everybody indeed wins. Only the bad guys will lose,” he said.