PNP: Unguarded spotlight

By Neil John Carandang

THE PNP (Philippine National Police) promised to serve and protect the public. Although there are many who have been questioning their credibility, their goal now is to regain the trust of those whom they serve.

The botched hostage rescue and allegations of police brutality among others reduced public faith in the country’s internal peace-keeping force and the PNP themselves know that. Their mission now is to change the public’s impression and ‘prove their worth,’ so to speak.

The history of PNP is “highlighted” with a lot of failed operations and anomalies, thus, earning different insulting meanings, as a form of derision, including the Department’s acronym and for the police; Pahingi ng Pera (PNP), the pulis patola,and kotong cops.

The concept of PNP as pahingi ng pera started during the hype of the massive corruption of the manila police in streets; they have been labeled as the “Kotong cops” of the Philippines.

Kotong is a form of forced bribery commonly known as “lagay.” In plain sight, “kotong” is actually stealing. “Pulis Patola” is a term coined as form of ridicule for those who accept briberies from authorities.

The PNP has been receiving a lot of negative criticism and which many believe to be self-imposed.


Amid the ridicule : “Kayo ang aming boss”
“We in the police department do not let negative issues affect our jobs in protecting the citizens,” said Manila Police District (MPD) Explosive and Ordinance Division Police in Chief Oliver Sotto Navales. According to the officer, highlighting failed operations of policemen is to be expected from the media.

“(For the media) If there is good news, it is not good news but if there is bad news then it’s good news,” he added.

Policemen believe that the media are able to detect errors easily and will magnify them at all costs. Navales insisted that the department does not tolerate any faulty actions coming from their members despite the recent reports on police torture in station 2 in Tondo, Manila, where a suspected snatcher was tortured to death.

But in regards with the actions of the SWAT in the Quirino Grandstand hostage Drama, Navales took a deep breath and explained that the police just wanted to resolve the situation.

“The police wanted nothing more than to save the lives of the hostages and capture the suspect, who, unfortunately, was also a policeman,” he said.

According to Maj. Navales, their public negative image did not shake them, but has in fact, made them stronger and more determined to improve.

Maximano Ricafort, brother of the former (MPD) Explosive and Ordinance Division Police in Chief Major Ricafort, claimed that in his brother’s time of office, he had been also staying in the MPD office and he had been good friends with the police, gaining access to the issues in the department.

He believes that corruption had long entered the PNP and remains doubtful if it can still be removed from the system.

He said that the PNP’s system starts with corruption, there is a quota in accepting police every year, therefore, there are limited slots which the aspiring trainees pay for.

“Those who are really qualified loose their chance because of this corrupted system. Even in our time, this already existed, but it was around 50k back then, now I heard it has reached double.” Maximano said.


SPOTLIGHT: Does the PNP still have the trust of the majority?
An independent market research study conducted by The Digital Edge in behalf of Reader’s Digest was held in the Philippines last year. It aims to determine the trust level people have in the given list of 40 professions. The survey showed that the level trust people have on our police officers is not as high compared to our army officials and media, only getting a mean score of 4.75 out of the perfect mean score of 10 percent.


Collective insights from the masses
According to Danny Depas, 37 years-old taxi driver, thoughts that appear in his mind once he hears the “police” are fear, irritation, and discomfort.

He has been driver for almost 16 years. He saw the ups and downs of the practices of street police over the years.

For him the leader or the president is the key in minimizing the abusive policemen.

“If the president does a clean job, then there is no reason for the lower officials to do stupid things, especially the police officers,” he said

He hated the Arroyo’s administration the most; this is the time that he had encountered a lot of significant harassment coming from the police.

“Cory’s and Ramos’ administration was good, the police were “good” back then, the best was in Erap’s administration, street policeman is not the stick to us drivers, but the worst is in Arroyo’s administration.” He said.

Meanwhile, Lamberto Santos III, a 3rd year law student from the University of Santo Tomas believes that if our policemen are being paid justly, then, there would be no corruption among the police force. He also asserted that a change in law is not solely the panacea to remedy the worsening status of corruption in the society.

This statement of Lamberto was supported by Lester Cunado, also a 3rd year law student and an incumbent president of a university-wide organization in UST, Batas Tomasino, he also believes that the status quo of the performance of our PNP will be in a better state if only people would still trust to policemen’s ability to secure the public safety. with reports from Bianca de Mesa

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Living practically or for safety's sake?

By Pamela Cabrera


WHICH is more important, saving money or safety?

Living in the busy and polluted atmosphere of Manila, in every corner of the streets you could see signage of “room for rent,” “dormitory, inquire inside,” or “wanted: bedspacer.” But for a money-wise person, is it good to go for a cheap-priced rent but it will only give you an old apartment boarded with different kinds of people than to pay a high rate and assures you a nice space to live?

28-year old Abby Solang, an employee of a maritime company and currently renting a 4-door room inside a 4- story apartment along Claro M. Recto in Manila for 4 months because he was taking a training course near the said apartment.

“I have no choice,” Abby said in Tagalog regarding the reason why he chose that apartment rather than renting a good one at an expensive rate. “It is cheap and near my training center,” he added.

“There are also no rules implemented by our landlord here,” he said but the good thing about the place Abby narrated is that even though there are different borders in each room, majority of them came from the same province (Benguet or La Union). It seems that they do know each other well. “We are like brothers in this place, but we practice privacy with each other’s stuff," he added.

Most of the borders in the apartment were employees, students from nearby colleges and universities and mostly nursing graduates who are currently reviewing for their board examination just around the block.

Upon seeing the façade of the apartment, one gets an idea that it was probably been closed for years because of the narrow passageways going to the floors of the apartment. Adding up is the ground floor frontage which is composed of different repairing shops and food stalls.

The building apartment was established in 1955 and according to a landlady managing the rents in the apartment that it [apartment] suffered from earthquakes but still remains standing.

“This building has gone into series of earthquake incidents, but there is no occurrence of a major building destruction,” said Violeta Villaseňor in Tagalog; who had been living in the same building for more than 10 years and running the business of room rentals for 4 years. “It is made of heavy cement,” she added.

Villaseňor’s borders were mostly nursing students taking up their review courses in a nearby review center. But she is strictly implementing “all-girls” policy with her borders and strict rules with the visiting hours and curfews.

“I treat them as my own child, since all my children have their own lives now,” she said. That is why she is very strict with her female borders since they were her ‘kargo’ to their parents.

Safety is a must
Every boarding house should have their proper safety precautions at all times to prepare their tenants for further incidents like fire and earthquake.

“We have fire exit in one of the rooms in case of emergency,” Mrs. Villaseňor said in Tagalog. Villaseñor's boarding house underwent series of inspections by the Manila City Hall for sanitation and safety measures, and so far it had passed the inspections.

Meanwhile Abby revealed that in their room, they do not have any fire exits but they do have fire extinguishers somewhere inside the room. "We are fearful of emergencies because the stairs are narrow,” he said regarding the safety measures he and his fellow boarders are preparing in case of unexpected incidents. “We will just flee for our lives,” he added.

Orders from the city administration
According to Executive Order 7 of the Manila City Hall issued by Mayor Alfredo Lim in 2007, wherein a committee was ordered to conduct an intensive inspection among dormitories and boarding houses in Manila.

This is to ensure that every establishment follows the proper and required operation in accordance with sanitation, fire and safety laws presented by the executive order.

Prior to this, the Manila administration also issued an ordinance that prescribes the rules and regulations among boarding houses and its respective punishment if ever one of which was violated.

Every dormitory and boarding house in the jurisdiction of Manila will undergo series of inspections conducted by authorized personnel from the Chairman of the Committee on Dormitories as inspectors for each dormitory. Starting from the number of regularly accepted boarders as prescribed on the basic guidelines for operation given by the Manila City Hall.

In line with this, inspectors must also take notice of the basic requirements such as the authentic mayor and business permits; the fire safety inspection and final electrical inspection certificates and many other permits were being ensured for the safety of every boarders and tenants.

However, when any of these provisions of this Ordinance were violated by any boarding house or dormitory; the license and permit to operate after being given its first until its final notice will be invalidated by the Mayor.


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Watching Trains Go By

by Maiqui Rome Francis Sta. Ana

“Time, I’ve been passing time watching trains go by…all of my life.”

YOU MAY know this line from a popular wedding song performed by Stephen Bishop during the 1980s, but this song pretty much sums up the daily routine in the life of a security guard in the busy platforms of the Legarda train station in Sampaloc, Manila.

“It’s not easy being a security guard,” says Rodolfo Resurrecion, a 31-year old security guard in the Light Rail Transit’s (LRT) line 2 along the Santolan to Recto route. He spends 8 hours of his daily life watching thousands of people get on with their lives, rushing to the nearest train door without even noticing the man ushering people away from the yellow tiles.

Around 4:30 in the morning, the first shift of security guards start their work in preparation for the opening of the station. Rodolfo’s day starts when all the passengers started to pour inside the station. About 200,000 passengers come inside the station every day, and each and every one of them will eventually pass through the escalator where Rodolfo happily waits for their arrival and greets them with the usual, “Good morning po ma’am, ingat lang po sa paglalakad at ‘wag tumapak sa yellow line.”

Standing in the platform for 8 hours is no simple task. Leg muscles started to get numb while sweat starts to gush out of him because of the heat of the sun, the only way to cope up with fatigue and boredom is to observe the people that enters and exits the train.

“My workplace has a lot of stories to tell. I usually see couples having a love quarrel or a boy begging his mother to buy him his favorite car or even an employee arguing with her boss on the telephone. These are the scenes that keep me awake all the time,” Rodolfo said in Filipino.

It is these small and insignificant scenes in everyday life that keeps a busy and boring day from becoming a total wreck. These people provide the stories and also serve as a reminder to Rodolfo that the beauty of life can still be found amid everyone else’s chaos and clutter.

Accompanying the wave of people entering the premises of the station are the unavoidable complaints and tantrums by some unruly commuters. Protocol prohibits security guards from engaging with the commuter.

“There was this one time when a commuter started swearing in front of me because he does not want to be inspected. He said that he was on a hurry and if I am going to inspect all of his baggage he would sue me. I told him that I was only doing my job and that he can talk to my supervisor for his complaints.”

These instances are pretty much unavoidable because of the tediousness of presenting all of your baggage only to be inspected and to be returned at once.

“A lot of them [commuters] don’t understand that what we are doing is for their own safety. They think that it’s just a simple task of poking sticks inside a stranger’s bag. Our job is to ensure that there will be no trouble whenever or on whatever part of the station it is.”

The risks of being a security guard aside from encountering angry mobs of commuters but also the danger of preventing creeps armed with deadly weapons from entering the station. Once in a while some drunken person with a knife may happen to come across the entrance of the station and demand passage inside.

“My job is to protect the passengers. I must never be afraid whenever some armed miscreant wants to get in,” Rodolfo expressed in Filipino.

Rodolfo’s wife, Jane understands the risks of his job as the protector of the passengers that ride the trains of the LRT. One of the things that keeps him going is the fact that his 4-year old daughter thinks that, “He is my hero because he protects people from bad guys,” Krisha, said in an interview.

These security guards are duty-bound to ensure the safety of the commuters as they enter the station. They are the watchmen of not only the people but also the memories and hopes that accompany them in their daily travels. As the great metal tube came rushing inside the station, that familiar song about passing time while watching the train go by serves as a reminder to the people that these dedicated sentinels should not be taken for granted and that they should be treated with respect, authority and kindness no matter who they are.

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University belt hoopsters aim for unity, not pride

by Alexandra Marie Saclao


THE PHILIPPINES is a country filled with rich culture and traditions that was influenced by the former colonizers of the country. One of those influences that Filipinos came to adapt up until now is the playing of sports. Whether one is only watching from the stands, watching at any place with a television on, or the one that is playing, it can be said that sports play an important role in the life of Juan dela Cruz.

But when you say “sports”, the first thing that comes to the mind of the Filipinos is basketball. With the sport, comes pride, privilege, and power, thus the term “competition”.

In the schools around the University Belt, sports is also one of the main things that make university life wilder. With the popularity of the basketball tournaments of the University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) and the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA), one can think of the battle of the hoops 365 days a year.

University of the East Red Warriors’ Team Manager, Jesus T. Tanchanco Sr. or “Sir Jess” said that the unity of the different universities should be the number one aim of these sports activities, and that it should foster “fellowship, brotherhood, camaraderie, and love between the teams and its supporters.”

The rookie coach of the 2010 NCAA Juniors’ Basketball Competition, San Beda Red Cubs, Coach Britt Reroma, also said that in San Beda, they prioritize the learning of “proper values and education over basketball” and humility should be on their player’s top list.

Meanwhile, Far Eastern University’s point guard, Jens Dieter Knuttel, shared that being inside the court is different once they are outside. He said that the competition between their team and the other teams in the UAAP only stays inside the four corners of the San Juan Arena, the Philsports Arena and the Araneta Coliseum. He even said that he is friends with some varsity players from the other universities, like University of the East's Raphy Reyes.

When it comes to the level of competition between the premier leagues, UAAP and NCAA, Coach Britt admitted that being in the UAAP has more advantage than being in the NCAA, talking about the Seniors’ Basketball Games but it is NCAA who has a better following in the Juniors’ division.

The supporters of each team from the UAAP and the NCAA defeats the main purpose of unity in the UAAP and in the NCAA.

Sir Jess and Coach Britt both said that it is the supporters who take everything seriously. Coach Britt even shared that in every game of San Beda in the NCAA, the priests are always present monitoring on the students and the people watching the game to avoid bigger problems in the future. He also added that he and his team make sure that they are role models to their supporters when it comes to being respectful towards their opponents.

Too much attention from the media also play a key role in increasing the level of competition between the two premier leagues. Obviously, UAAP gets more media attention than the NCAA due to the reason that the former has more powerful university members than the latter. After all, the top four universities in the Philippines are all member schools of the UAAP. Some people even commented that media should pay more attention to NCAA because it has more basketball action than the UAAP. True enough, Team NCAA bested out the Team UAAP seven times in the UAAP-NCAA All Star Games since 2004.

Though the competition gets tougher and tougher by the minute, we must always remember that whatever happens inside the court, stays in the court.


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Policemen collect ‘extraneous’ funds from street vendors

By Erika Denise Dizon and Alyosha Robillos

ST. JUDE PARISH—police do their rounds in herding away street vendors that loiter around the area but allow them to remain for a measly amount.

For some people in the Philippine labor force’s informal sector which is mainly composed of street vendors, home-based workers, “pedicab” drivers, non-corporate construction workers and other own-account employees, everyday is tariff day.

“For me to be able stay here and sell my merchandise, I pay the police 10 to 20 pesos every Thursday,” revealed Aracelie Ramos, a vendor of religious items stationed across La Consolacion University.

Ramos is not the only one the police have victimized. In fact, most vendors would also hand over money on a regular basis to prevent the officers from confiscating items on display, while others admitted to hiding whenever the police were around.

“Every time a raid would happen, I would have to shell out around 100 pesos just to keep my things,” kwek-kwek and fishballs vendor Alec Samson unveiled.

Samson narrated the time his wooden cart used for cooking was taken away from him after an unanticipated storming. “I had to beg for my frying pan back,” he said.

It seems that higher earning street vendors pay a lot more than their small time neighbors since the police could confiscate anything without restriction and vendors with higher incomes could give more.

In 2009, the Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics (BLES) proved that more than half of the country’s 33 million workforce was underemployed. Unfortunately, the informal sector still remained a big chunk of the labor force in the first quarter of 2010, the Labor Force Survey (LRS) showed.

In July this year, according to the LRS, the labor force was estimated to 39 million, 64 percent of the projected 60 million Filipinos above the age of 15. Out of this total, 34.8 percent was listed under the own-account workers category, pointing out that more than half of the Philippine labor force remains to be underemployed.

People like Ramos understand the government’s need to control unlicensed commerce but she and her co-vendors believe that there is still room for compromise.

“I earn an honest living. I don’t steal, unlike the policemen who come here. I’m willing to get a permit but I don’t have the means and offices, in general, don’t mind people without money. This is why we have the government. They should be looking into this,” Ramos said.

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