Reinventing law enforcement

LETTERS FROM THE AGNO

March L. Fianza

It is unparalleled. Less than two weeks ago, the world witnessed the killing of African-American George Floyd, Jr.; a truck driver and a night club bouncer, by police officer Derek Chauvin that sparked hundreds of street protests across the USA and countries outside. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the protests began in Minneapolis on May 26, 2020, the day after the killing and continued to spread to over 750 cities and towns in all 50 states as well as in 64 other countries.

 Amid the pandemic, street demonstrators sought justice for Floyd and other unjustified killings of black Americans, and shouted out statements against police brutality. The street rallies led to calls for police reform, and legislation as the answer to inequalities and partiality in the enforcement of laws.

In the Philippines, we witnessed the unfair treatment applied to alleged violators of protocols laid out to fight the spread of the corona virus. Irregularities were reported in the early stages of the lockdown, one of which was the celebration of the birthday of Metro Manila PNP chief Debold Sinas where policemen without facemasks were captured on video eating and drinking without the required social distancing measure, as if there was no pandemic.

Recently, San Juan Mayor Francis Zamora, along with his police escorts, violated health and safety protocols of Baguio and Benguet residents by disregarding the regulatory mechanism of quarantine check and triage examination at the Naguillan facility. He placed the blame on his cop escorts who he claimed ignored Baguio’s border control as they headed for the Baguio Country Club on a six-vehicle convoy.

Zamora apologized for the incident, claiming that he was asleep when they passed through the Kennon checkpoint. Upon arrival at the BCC, they were requested to present the required medical clearances, but they had nothing to show so they were asked to undergo a triage examination. Since they were already at the BCC, and to avoid unnecessary movement and possible transmission of the virus, a medical team from the City Health Service Office was sent to examine Zamora and company. 

Baguio Mayor Benjie Magalong said, Zamora and his escorts committed a serious breach of standing quarantine protocols, although DILG Sec. Eduardo Año downplayed the incident, citing that disregarding the Kennon checkpoint was merely a “miscommunication and arrogance” on the part of the PNP escorts who were later relieved by MM PNP chief Sinas.

Although Zamora apologized for his violation which he claimed as “unintentional”, I do not buy his lame excuse that he was asleep when they passed the Kennon checkpoint. What could have actually transpired in preparation for the trip was that Zamora’s police chief and escorts could have been asked to coordinate with Baguio’s PNP chief knowing very well that there are requirements to follow when traveling from one region to another. This, they did not do, believing that they can just talk it out with their kabaro at the checkpoint. Bahala na, kausapin na lang. By the way, it’s been said that it is impossible to wake up a person who is awake. Mahirap gisingin ang gising.

In January of 2018, President Duterte raised the salaries of cops hoping to make policemen “more professional” amid allegations of abuses. He said, the increased take-home pay of cops recognizes the importance of their role and discourages them from becoming rogues and law violators.

Days after the increase, then PNP chief and now Senator Ronald dela Rosa admitted that some police officers had demanded money from suspected narco-traffickers in exchange for the removal of their names from the drug watch list. The President admitted that abuses are rampant among cops and that he would only protect them if the crime they are charged with is in line with their duty.

In all of the true stories above, the main actors were cops. That also proves that in all of the 750 cities and towns in 50 states in the USA and 64 countries around the world, policemen were involved in brutal enforcement of laws. Police violated human rights (or civil rights) by applying undue force in the arrest of civilians.

To address the problem, families of victims and their sympathizers proposed to reduce deaths in custody of police enforcers and reform policing by reinventing law enforcement. These include the wearing of body cameras by the arresting officers, amending policies on the use of force, demilitarizing the police, and even suing the police.

However, on the use of body cameras, there were reports that even though video footages exposed police brutality, most of it was filmed by citizens, not the police. Also, the video footages on body cameras were more likely to be used by prosecutors against civilians in criminal courts, than as a means of proving police brutality.

Demilitarizing the police was proposed because the public complained of being somewhat “terrorized” when seeing policemen in tiger suits with long firearms who look more like soldiers in battle gear, than neighborhood cops trying to keep the community safe. In the fight against COVID-19 here, a netizen posted on Facebook that policemen at checkpoints need not wear battle gear uniforms because the enemy is the coronavirus, not the people.

One controversial proposal was to “defund” the police and reallocate the funds to housing and education, health and environment which were seen as better deterrents to crime. Certain LGUs believe that poverty and homelessness are factors that contribute to crime that the police are sometimes asked to handle but are unprepared to do so.

Relative to the anti-Terrorism bill by Senators Ping Lacson and Tito Sotto, while the proponents claim that the law has so many safety nets to protect the public, what is actually fearsome is that it may be purposefully used by law enforcers such as the police and the army to silence perceived enemies of the state by disregarding the procedures in its implementation. Again, its enforcement greatly depend on the main actors which are the law enforcers.

***

My attention regarding the distribution of SAP in Sadanga was called last week by an anonymous reader. The correction forwarded was that all those qualified beneficiaries received their subsidies, including the complainants who were called to the municipal hall who were legible heads of families.

I stand corrected. What I wish to point out is that in all government dole-outs all over the world, we cannot avoid doubts and suspicions of irregularities, whether intentional or unintentional. Happy 122nd Independence Day to all! 

CITY HALL BEAT

Aileen P. Refuerzo

New Baguio Covid-19 cases /

Church services open with rules  

BAGUIO CITY -- The city government will boost its triage and testing schemes as new Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases emerged last week.

Mayor Benjamin Magalong said circumstances on the two new cases – the returning Baguio worker and the incarcerated resident – underscored the need to tighten the x-ray requirement in the city’s central triage and the necessity to expand random testing.

The returning worker was found positive of the virus after her x-ray result showed suspicious pneumonia necessitating a mandatory reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test which turned out positive.  As a result of the triage findings, the said patient was immediately isolated preventing disease transmission at once.

Because of this, the mayor said chest x-rays will now become a requirement not only for returning workers but also for all come backing residents as a precaution against the disease.

“We will now require x-rays among all our RBRs to ensure that no one with potential infection gets through the triage.  We will deploy x-ray machines that will be good for a 24-hour operation for a minimal fee of P180 for the cost of the film,” the mayor said.

“I hope people would understand that this is the way to go if we want to safeguard our city because we really do not know how many of our RBRs and workers are potentially infected,” he added.

He said triage records on construction workers alone showed that out of the 1,048 workers who came up from May 7-27, 11.9 percent were found to have pneumonia, tuberculosis and heart problems, all of which are comorbidities of COVID-19

Apart from the RBRs and workers, the city also contends with returning Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) now totaling 900.  The mayor said they are expecting around 9,000 in the coming days and the number is protracted to reach 20,000 in the coming weeks.  

The mayor said the case of the patient who was found positive while in jail highlighted the fact the prevalence of the infection remains unknown.

The patient who was committed to city jail only last May 28 was among those included in the random RT-PCR tests conducted at the facility.

He said the situation will remain unknown until such time that an extensive RT-PCR testing is done.

At present, the city is only able to conduct 10 percent random sampling for RT-PCR tests among the at risk population due to limited supply of kits.

“So it is only until we have an adequate supply of test kits and able to do extensive testing can we determine our actual situation thus we have to be always on our toes and remain vigilant.  We also have to be strict with our borders and we cannot simply ease up on all the sectors and let them all go out simply because we still do not know,” the mayor said.

He said there are around 17,000 RT-PCR test kits available at the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center and efforts are exerted to acquire more.

***

The city government and the religious sector on June 3 agreed to reopen church services during the Modified General Community Quarantine period subject to guidelines compliant with the health and safety standards on Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) prevention and control.

In a consultation meeting attended by leaders of the religious organizations, Mayor Magalong acknowledged that church services are essential activities that should be allowed under the MGCQ.

As agreed, churches and groups will have to submit their guidelines to mayor and ocular inspection of their churches, mosques or prayer halls will be conducted.

Services will only commence after the approval of the guidelines and issuance of certificates of compliance by the city government.

Some of the rules discussed during the consultation meeting were:

*Limiting attendees to 10 percent of the capacity of the church, mosque or prayer hall. Senior Citizens and those younger than 20 will be allowed to join Sunday services but Sunday school for children will not be allowed still;

*Strict observance of all health protocols i.e. one meter-radius physical distancing, use of masks and availability of alcohol;  

*List of attendees with details must be made available for contact tracing; and 

*Time of Sunday services shall only be from 6:00 AM to 2:00 pm.

During the consultation, church leaders led by Baguio Apostolic Vicar Rev. Victor Bendico of the Catholic Church and Rev. Pastor Robbie Cases of the Protestant churches and Rev. Pastor Voltaire Acosta who heads the Presidential Commission on Religious Affairs committed to comply with all the precautionary measures as they do not want to complicate the COVID-10 problem and jeopardize the programs of the city government.

Pastor Casas acknowledged the need to limit attendees as although they could ensure safety protocols inside churches, they could not do so anymore outside of it considering that churchgoers would have to take public transport. – With reports from Leimara Phitaka

EASTWIND

Bernie Lopez

The Rosary kid

(The article below is based on a true story as related by cancer-healer Sr. Raquel Reodica, RVM wherein a child teacher her mother to pray the Rosary).

Susan is a five-year-old kid. Her mother prays the rosary every evening in front of the home altar. Susan does not pray the rosary with her. She just sits behind her silently. Her mother has advanced stage psoriasis on her scalp. The hair has fallen off, and it is full of pus. She cannot sleep due to extreme itchiness. This has made her very cranky.

MOTHER - How come you never pray the rosary with me?

SUSAN - Of course, I pray the rosary silently behind you.

MOTHER - So let me give you a rosary.

SUSAN - I don’t need one, mommy. This is my rosary. (She puts up her two hands.)

MOTHER - Oh, ten Hail Mary’s, right? That’s nice.

SUSAN - Nope. No Hail Marys.

MOTHER - So, how do you pray then?

SUSAN - (Clasping her hands in prayer.) I just talk to Jesus and Mama Mary. They always listen to me. Let me pray now. (She closes her eyes.) Jesus, through Your Mommy, please take care of my mommy, Jessica, Gloria, and me. Keep us safe, happy, and together. (She opens her eyes.) That’s it. It takes me 30 seconds. (She offers her open hands to her mother.) Kiss my hands. They are full of prayers.

They go to the dining table for dinner.

MOTHER - Jessica, please give me a glass of cold water.

Jessica, the first maid, appears with a glass of water.

MOTHER – What is this? (Screaming.) I told you time and again, when you wash my glass, wipe it dry so there are no spots. Look, look, I can’t drink this? You imbecile. Get out of here. Gloria, give me a glass of water.

Gloria, the second maid, appears with a glass of water. The mother throws the glass against the wall.

MOTHER – Same thing, Gloria. When will you ever learn?

The two maids retreat to the kitchen, sobbing, as the mother trembles with anger, screaming.

SUSAN – (Undaunted by her anger) Mommy, can you mix good and evil?

MOTHER – (Forgetting her anger for a moment.) Of course not. They are opposed to each other, enemies forever.

SUSAN - So, how come you pray the rosary, then scream at the maids?The mother is silent. She is jolted. After a full minute of reflection, she embraces Susan. In tears, she goes to the two maids, and embraces them. All are now sobbing, except Susan, watching with a smile.

MOTHER – (To Jessica and Gloria) Here, take these two rosaries. I bought them in Rome. They are expensive. I will stick to this little local wooden rosary.

SUSAN - Mommy, will your prayers be heard more if your rosary is expensive?

MOTHER - No, darling, It does not matter. That’s why I keep the cheaper rosary.

From then on, after her mother prays the rosary, she and Susan go to the kitchen to Jessica and Gloria, and with clasped hands, and closed eyes and ‘pray the rosary’ together again for 30 seconds.

SUSAN leads the prayers, “Jesus, through Your Mother Mary, please take care of my mommy, Jessica, Gloria, and me. Keep us safe, happy, and together.”

She offers her open hands. The mother, Jessica and Gloria kisses them. Then, they embrace each other.

SUSAN – Mommy, I notice your scalp is getting better. No more itch?

MOTHER – Yes, I am surprised myself.

SUSAN – I’m not surprised, mommy. My teacher says ‘forgiveness heals’. I think, when you embraced Jessica and Gloria, your scalp started to heal.

MOTHER – Yes, I believe so, darling.

SUSAN – You better believe it. Mama Mary asked Jesus to heal you because you forgave.

MOTHER – Yes, darling, forgiveness not only heals, it gives inner peace.

SUSAN – And the one who hates is the unfortunate one. Hatred will destroy him.

MOTHER – Yes, darling.

After a month, the scalp of Susan’s mother was completely dry and hair started growing. She slept well and never became cranky again. It was a great feat of the rosary kid to bring inner peace to their tiny simple home.