SENATOR Imee Marcos has filed a bill seeking to grant Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) cadets the official status of government employees, giving them civil service eligibility, full benefits, and job security similar to their counterparts at the Philippine Military Academy (PMA).

Senate Bill No. 1368, or the proposed PNPA Cadet Act, aims to correct what Marcos described as a long-standing disparity between PNPA cadets and other government trainees.

Although PNPA cadets currently receive a monthly allowance of ₱35,000—equivalent to the salary of a Police Executive Master Sergeant—they are not legally recognized as government employees, based on a 2022 Civil Service Commission resolution.

“Despite their crucial role as future officers of the PNP, Bureau of Fire Protection, and Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, PNPA cadets are treated like job order employees and remain outside the coverage of civil service protections,” Marcos said in her explanatory note.

Under the bill, PNPA cadets will be considered employees of the National Government upon entry into the academy and will receive salaries and benefits in accordance with existing compensation laws.

The measure also provides that cadets be granted civil service eligibility and provisional appointments renewable annually until graduation. They will likewise be entitled to disability, sickness, and death benefits equal to those of regular PNP personnel if injured, disabled, or killed during training.

The bill further grants lifetime pensions equivalent to 80 percent of a cadet’s last salary in cases of total permanent disability, as well as gratuity, burial assistance, and a five-year monthly pension for families of cadets who die while in training.

To ensure that public investment is matched by service, PNPA graduates will be required to render at least eight years of government service, or double the academy’s four-year training period.

Dismissed cadets who do not violate the Honor Code may also be automatically appointed as police corporals if deemed physically and mentally fit, even without a college degree.

Marcos said the measure seeks to boost morale and professionalize the country’s law enforcement pipeline.

“Recognizing PNPA cadets as government employees will not only secure their welfare but also enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the Philippine National Police,” she stressed.