Custody of idling kids ordered
Rounded-up minors should only be held overnight – Duterte
President Duterte has ordered law enforcers to round up and take into custody minors idling in the streets despite the controversies surrounding his order to the Philippine National Police (PNP) to accost idlers.
But Duterte ordered the police that the rounded up minors should only be held overnight as they were only taken into police custody for their safety.
The President gave the order following criticisms against his anti-tambay directive which resulted in at least 8,000 arrests in Metro Manila alone.
In a speech in Cagayan
de Oro City Monday evening, Duterte reiterated that it is his mandate as father of the nation to protect the citizens, particularly the minors whom he claimed are vulnerable to crimes and illegal drugs.
“Below 18, you arrest the teenagers there around loitering, because we have to protect our children, nagkalat na ang droga, nagkalat na ang lahat (drugs and everything are everywhere),” he said.
The President, however, clarified that the minors that would be taken into custody by the police would only be taken in a form of an arrest but would not really be arrested as they will be released the following morning.
“You take them into custody not to arrest them, but for their own safety, to protect them. They are not being arrested for any crime, arrest them for their good. ‘Uwi kayong lahat (Go home, all of you).’ We can take custody of minors to protect them,” he said.
“That is the obligation of the police, the barangay chairpersons. ‘Pag minors, damputin mo talaga (If you see minors, you really round them up),” he added.
“Tawagin ang DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development). Pakainin diyan (Call the DWSD and feed them there) and release them in the morning. It should be the barangay captain who will deliver them to the parents,” he continued.
Don’t listen to critics Duterte also told the police to continue with their current operations in the streets and not listen to his critics who claim that arresting is unconstitutional.
“Alam natin ang reality sa (we know the reality on the) ground so don't give me that f*cking thing about Constitutional right,” he said.
“Unless the Supreme Court says I am mistaken, hayaan ko. Hayaan natin lahat sa labas. Magdampot na lang tayo ng patay (I will not do anything. I will let everybody go out. Let us just pick up dead persons afterward),” he added.
Duterte then reiterated that he never ordered the police to arrest idlers but only to accost them and tell them to go home.
“[My order on] istambay (idlers) is just to frisk them. Even in America, that is allowed… That to me is legal until the Supreme Court says it is illegal,” he said.
“Kapag sinabi ng Supreme Court [stop] (If the Supreme Court tells us to stop), OK. Then give us guidance on how to do it. Or better still, supervise us on how to do it,” he added.
The President also said he is willing to let his critics take over the reins of government and solve the country's peace and order problems in one year.
“Ayaw nila ng tambay kasi ganun raw Constitution… P **** , mas marunong pa kayo (They don't want the term tambay because it was against the Constitution. Son of a b*tch, you think you're brighter than everyone else),” he said during the oath-taking of Northern Mindanao barangay captains in Cagayan de Oro City Monday.
“Kung ganun, pumunta kayo sa Malacañang, kayo ang paupuin ko. I’ll give you one year to sit down and solve the problem. Puro lang kayo daldal (If that's the case, go to Malacañang, I'll let you take my post. I'll give you one year to sit down and solve the problem. You just keep on yakking),” he added.
Duterte also then called out his critics, saying they should review what he said before riding on the bandwagon of criticisms against his order.
“’Yung mga tao diyan 'wag muna kayo sumakay (To those people, do not join in just yet). If you do not believe me, kindly review the tapes. Mas bright ho ako sa inyo. Mas bright ako (I am brighter than you. I will not talk without cover),” he said.
The President also put the newlyelected barangay captains to task by telling them to make sure that the law is faithfully executed.
“Do your duty. You are the leaders of your barangays. If you cannot do it, kung mataas ang crime rate niyo (if you have a high crime rate), then I will charge you with neglect,” he said.
Chance for barangay tanod Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo, a senior member of PDP-Laban party, supported the President’s call on barangay leaders to do their role in crime prevention.
Castelo, chairman of the House Committee on Metro Manila Development, asked the government to assign to barangay tanod men the responsibility of arresting violators of local ordinances, saying that they are less prone to committing abuses.
“Why not? A barangay tanod is well trained to deal against vagrancy and he fully knows the terrain of the community as well as its people. He can probably do the job right,” said Castelo, who is also a senior member of the House Committees on Dangerous Drugs and on Public Order and Safety.
QC Councilor Don de Leon shared Castelo’s stand, pointing out that village watchmen, also known as barangay public safety officers (BPSO), can be tapped as “force multipliers.”
De Leon lamented that at least two individuals have been killed as a result of the police drive against street loiterers and the strict enforcement of city ordinances against drinking liquor, walking shirtless, and urinating in public and similar local public order laws.
“There is definitely a need to update our city ordinances, keep them relevant and effective, specially the penal clauses. I would rather give violators a choice between fine or community service, instead,” said De Leon.
Castelo explained that barangay watchmen perform almost the same function in enforcing peace and order as that of policemen, except that they are armed with sticks instead of guns.
Curfew for minors Meanwhile, the Philippine National Police (PNP) vowed on Tuesday that there is no stopping policemen from implementing law enforcement operations targeting local ordinance violators, especially minors or those who are below 18 years old who are caught violating the curfew.
Director General Oscar Albayalde, PNP chief, emphasized that the apprehension of youths who defy the curfew hour is already included in their intensified campaign against local ordinance violators so the public should not be surprised with this.
He even recalled that the apprehension of curfew violators has been implemented since 2016, citing Oplan Rody (Rid the streets of Drunks and Youth), the pioneer campaign of former Parañaque City police commander, Chief Superintendent Jemar Modequillo.
“Remember when I was still the RD [regional director] of the NCRPO [National Capital Region Police Office], nandyan na 'yan (it's already there). It was started by Chief Superintendent Modequillo so there's nothing new to it,” Albayalde said.
Modequillo started implementing Oplan Rody, taken from the nickname of President Duterte, in Las Piñas City when he served as its chief of police in May, 2016. The operational plan then made headlines when Modequillo was transferred to Parañaque City where hundreds of ordinance violators every night were made to do push-ups as a punishment.
Under the current campaign, Albayalde clarified that minor offenders are released on first offense after giving a lecture to their parents or guardians to remind them of their responsibilities to take care of their children.
On second and third offense, varying penalties ranging from 150 to 1100 or 1200 are being imposed by local police.
There are varying curfew ordinances in Metro Manila but the PNP has long backed the imposition of curfew for minors nationwide and penalize their parents or guardians since they said it is a strong deterrent against crime involving the youth.
The PNP's intensified campaign on curfew violators came with the directive of President Duterte to round up minors who are street idlers. (With reports from Genalyn D. Kabiling, Ben R. Rosario, and Martin A. Sadongdong)