* This is my column in BusinessWorld last June 22, 2018.
“I have no reason to suppose that he, who would take away
my Liberty, would not when he had me in his Power, take away everything else.”
— John Locke
(1632-1704, British philosopher)
Recently, President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the
Philippine National Police (PNP) to arrest people who are out on the streets at
night and seem to be idle or out making “tambay.” His speech to the PNP last
June 14, 2018, which effectively became a directive was,
“My directive is ’pag mag-istambay-istambay sabihin niyo,
‘Umuwi kayo. ’Pag ’di kayo umuwi, ihatid ko kayo don sa opisina ni ano don,
Pasig.’ Ako na ang bahala, ilagay mo lang diyan. Talian mo ’yung kamay pati
bin[ti]–ihulog mo diyan sa ano. Do not — you be strict. Part of confronting
people just idling around. They are potential trouble for the public.”
That directive has no details and since then, thousands
have been rounded up by the PNP and brought to jails. Loitering or vagrancy has
been decriminalized by RA 10158 in 2012 or under the previous administration.
I shared on Facebook a video uploaded by Ariel Morco last
June 20. In that video, he went out of his small house, shirtless, when a
police car and motorcycle passed by.
After he was accosted by an officer on a motorcycle, he
went back inside but the officer pulled him out and was brought to the police
van.
Mr. Morco wrote this note in his video,
“Ang tindi nio mga kumag na pulis. Andito lng ako sa
bahay eh hinuli nio parin ako. Kahit wala ako damit pang itaas di naman ako
nakatambay at wala ako sa kalye kita na naman sa video pumasok na eko eh hinila
pa ako at pinilit na sumama. Mga walang utak na pulis. Kau na lng humusga.”
That video with 10,454 views the last time I checked it,
was later removed with a note by Facebook, “Page could not be found.”
I suspect that some influential people have asked Mr.
Morco to take it down otherwise, some ugly incidents might happen to him or his
family.
Mr. Morco obviously is poor.
As seen in the video, his house is small and since it
lacks air circulation, its residents occasionally remove their shirts while
indoors to keep themselves cool. Occasionally, some of them go out, shirtless.
And when some PNP officers pass by, they think they have
the “right” to penalize and prosecute these poor people, based on what the
president said.
The World Justice Project (WJP) produces an annual study,
the “Rule of Law Index” (RoLI) and score countries based on their performance
on 8 factors and 44 sub-factors. The RoLI 2017-2018 Report involves more than
110,000 households as respondents and 3,000 expert surveyors in 113 countries
and jurisdictions.
I checked the Philippines’ score in relation to our East
Asian neighbors on two of eight factors: Factor 4 on “Fundamental Rights,” and
Factor 8 on “Criminal Justice.” Not included in the report are Brunei and Laos.
In particular, I checked these four sub-factors:
4.2 The right to life and security of the person is
effectively guaranteed.
4.3 Due process of law and rights of the accused.
8.1 Criminal investigation system is effective.
8.4 Criminal system is impartial.
The result for the Philippines indeed, is ugly.
Rule of Law Index 2017-18
These four sub-factors are among the “downers” or those
that pulled down the Philippines’ overall score and global rank.
I was wondering, if Mr. Morco resisted being dragged to
the police van, could he been considered as “nanlaban kasi” [resisted] and
perhaps shot later?
The PNP should be ashamed of incidence like this.
If the leadership is serious in fighting abuses and
extortion by their men, they should name those officers and announce their
suspension, publicly. Otherwise, those officers will do it again, preferably in
poor neighborhood with no CCTV.
We pay more tax-tax-tax under this administration that
partly raise the salaries and perks of personnel in government including the
PNP. One reason why crime can be high is because the PNP are busy with mundane
concerns like going after ordinary, innocent, unarmed citizens.
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See also:
BWorld 223, Ease of setting up and closing down business, July 9, 2018
BWorld 224, China mercantilism and US free trade challenge, July 10, 2018
