No big fuss over police roundups in Davao City
DAVAO CITY – There is a thin line between crime prevention and the suppression of civil liberties in areas like Metro Manila.
And while critics of the Philippine government cry foul over half-naked men being rounded up and taken to the precincts, residents here are wondering what the fuss really is.
In this city, the case is different because both the police and community offer a multi-pronged approach to crimeprevention.
And Dabawenyos didn’t need to be convinced beyond then-Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s rationale that keeping the streets of Davao safe would benefit their own families in the long run.
In his marching orders to Davao City cops, Duterte repeatedly told them to “treat the streets as places where your own daughters would walk.”
“If your own daughters can make it home unharmed, then you’re doing a good job,” Duterte used to stress as this actually became a mantra among local law enforcers on the level of commitment they should have to keep the streets of Davao safe.
But while Davao is usually known as Duterte country, it is not entirely without critics.
In fact, one of the strongest voices opposing President Duterte’s thoughts on martial law comes from Davao City through an organization called Konsyensya Dabaw.
Konsyensya Dabaw convenor Mags Maglana, in an interview with The Manila Bulletin, said that the approach used in the Metro Manila roundups should not be compared with the policies in Davao City.
“It’s a fallacy,” Maglana said, even as supporters of the Duterte administration continue to compare Davao City’s “successes” in crime prevention as a model for the Manila roundup.
“I’m not ready to believe yet that implementing the successes of Davao City will have the same effect in other areas,” Maglana said. For one, there’s martial law. The city has been under a state of martial law since May, 2017.
And this has been the legal basis for most of the roundups and operations staged by the police here for more than a year.
From May 2017 to May 2018, the Davao City Police Office has conducted 37 operations, and has reported that 339 with pending warrants have been arrested from among 44,409 who were herded from the communities. This is akin to the Oplan Bulabog and Oplan Sita conducted in Manila by the police.
But a noble approach to the police operations included the conduct of medical missions where 6,400 were able to avail of free medicine, and 6,220 received free medical checkup.
And even without martial law, it is largely believed that the city will continue with its notoriety for implementing its iron-clad ordinances.
Among these is a very strict liquor ban, which prohibits absolutely the sale and consumption of alcoholic drinks beyond 1 a.m.
Children and minors are strictly prohibited from roaming the streets at night. In fact, during the term of thenMayor Duterte, he personally went after the parents of two abandoned children rescued by city social workers in the harsh streets of Davao.
Computer shops, including arcadestyle “Piso-net” devices are regulated. Barangay officials are ordered to monitor the said devices to prevent internet or gaming addiction. Computer shops and internet cafes also regulate usage, meaning, children and minors are not allowed during class hours and late-nights, unless there is a note from the school that the log in is strictly for educational purposes.
Included in the liquor ban is the purchase and consumption of drinks outside sari-sari stores.
But a major concern for Maglana continues to be the negative perception being created by the Duterte government against those who are just standing idly by on the streets, or Oplan Tambay.
According to her, the issue should be more than just lack of activity.
“The government should examine whether it provides enough livelihood activities and other programs for those in the areas,” she said.
Maglana believes that the idling of individuals is a result of an absence of socio-economic programs, or at the very basic, an absence of facilities where people could gather, such as parks and plazas.