BACOLOD City – Overweight policemen in Negros Occidental will be forced to work off their accumulated fats and bulging waistlines. Police Colonel Romeo Baleros, the province’s top cop, is set to lead an in-house fitness camp starting next week for overweight police officers to help them reach their ideal body mass index (BMI).
According to Baleros, they are planning to implement a weight loss program for 45 to 60 days. The participants will be housed at the provincial police headquarters in this city.
“I asked the one in-charge of the BMI evaluation to identify all policemen who are obese. Our aim is to significantly trim down their weight,” Baleros said on Tuesday.
He added that while these police officers are based at the Camp Alfredo Montelibano Sr., he will join them in their daily morning walking exercise and ensure that they follow a certain diet.
During the press conference, Baleros presented alias “Big Boy,” an obese police officer he has been helping lose weight since November last year.
On Feb. 29, Baleros uploaded on his personal Facebook page a video showing him coaching the policeman in doing sit-ups, push-ups and stationary jogs while inside his office.
Baleros said that when he saw “Big Boy” on detachment duty about four months ago, he ordered him to be assigned at the NOCPPO headquarters so he could closely monitor his progress in losing weight.
“Every morning, he does walking for two to three kilometers. Since we started this, he has lost 12 kilograms,” the police official said.
“Big Boy” told reporters that when Baleros first saw him, he weighed 158 kilograms, but he is now down to 146.
Still, he needs to work harder to reach a BMI of 80 kilograms, which is ideal for males like him who are 5’11” tall. He said he tipped the scales at 80 kilograms when he was a police trainee in 2011.
Alias “Big Boy” said his weight ballooned during the time he was doing office duties between September 2013 and April 2014.
“Right now, my weight loss is still not significant, but I will push for it. It’s hard to go on a diet especially when you’re used to eating a lot,” said the policeman, who is a good cook.
Still, he said he will persevere with the encouragement and support of his superior as he admitted having lacked the discipline to maintain his ideal body weight.
Alias “Big Boy” dismissed the comments of netizens that he was shamed by Baleros in uploading the video of him doing physical exercises.
“They don’t know the whole story. PD (provincial director) also gave me advice during that time…He has good intentions,” he added.
Baleros said he is helping “Big Boy” to also encourage other obese policemen to become fit so they can do their job well. (With a report from PNA/PN)
