Napolcom Chief Calinisan “Na-Tulfo” in the Senate — in a good way

SENATORS Tulfo and Ejercito commend National Police Commission (Napolcom) reforms, backlog reduction.

Napolcom Chief Commissioner Rafael Vicente Calinisan received unexpected commendations from Senators Raffy Tulfo and JV Ejercito during the Senate deliberations on the agency’s proposed 2026 budget.

Calinisan shared that he was pleasantly surprised when Senator Tulfo acknowledged the reforms currently being implemented at Napolcom.

“I thank Senator Raffy Tulfo for recognizing the reforms we initiated in Napolcom. Senator Tulfo, during the budget deliberation, said ‘I heard the new Commissioner is doing good, compared to the previous commissioners,” which was a shock to me,” he said in Filipino.

Senator JV Ejercito, sponsor of the Napolcom budget, echoed the praise and cited Calinisan’s competence and track record.

Ejercito highlighted Calinisan’s long service in the Quezon City People’s Law Enforcement Board (PLEB), adding that his leadership contributed significantly to improving Napolcom’s case disposition rate. He noted that with the support of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), the commission successfully reduced its backlog from around 4,000 cases to just about 200 pending cases, a milestone described as a major institutional achievement.

In response, Sen. Ejercito said: “[Calinisan] served for a long time in the PLEB of Quezon City. He has the experience and I think there were a lot of reforms that were instituted when he took over. That’s why the backlog that they have been working on together with the DILG Secretary from four thousand cases, are now down to 200 pending. So, I think this agency is worth helping. Hopefully, by next year, we can augment the budget to make Napolcom more effective in the performance of their task to investigate and make sure our law enforcers are in the right direction.”

Napolcom is expected to clear out its 25-year backlog for the first time by end December 2025.