The primary objective of this paper was to determine which domain of public service motivation (PSM) best influences the cross-cultural competence of police officers. Employing a non-experimental quantitative research design with a descriptive-correlational technique, the study included 120 police officers assigned in Mati City, Davao Oriental. Purposive sampling was use for respondent selection. Statistical analyses using mean, Pearson correlation and multiple regression was applied on the data following checks for normal distribution. Results indicated that the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Mati exhibited a very high level of public service motivation, with an average weighted mean (AWM) of 4.48, and respondents reported a high level of cross-cultural competence. Furthermore, the study disclosed a positive correlation between public service motivation and the cross-cultural competence of Mati City PNP. However, when regressed independently, the compassion indicator of public service motivation emerged as a significant predictor of cross-cultural competence (p ≤ .05). Since compassion is the primary driver of cultural competence, it should be highly prioritized in training and evaluation, leveraging this innate motivational factor to strengthen operational skills. In addition, PNP officers can begin training simulations on ambiguous tolerance situations such as prayer rallies, violent rallies or benevolent suspect cases like bribery or asking favors.