Philippine Daily Inquirer

DO YOU BELIEVE THE POLICE?

- SOLITA COLLAS-MONSOD solita_monsod@yahoo.com

The Genesis “Tisoy” Argoncillo case is illustrati­ve of several things that are wrong with the Philippine­s. First, Tisoy, at 22 years old, was destined for failure. Why? He only had a 4th grade education, which makes him a prime candidate for poverty. He came to Metro Manila when he was 15 to stay with his sister, who is a domestic helper. His forays into employment were by doing “extra” work for his sister’s employer.

Yet, our Constituti­on (Art. IV, Sec. 2.3) mandates that elementary education is compulsory for all children of school age, and provides free elementary and high school education (Sec. 2.2). It seems the state is more interested in apprehendi­ng/arresting/punishing us for doing what we should not be doing, but is very cavalier about apprehendi­ng/arresting/punishing us for not doing what we should be doing.

This illustrate­s that sins of commission are given more weight than sins of omission, which is a pity in this case. If the barangay tanod in Tisoy’s barangay had done their duty and made sure that children of school age were in school, Tisoy would have had a better chance of employment with higher income.

Second, Tisoy’s only fault was that he was bare-chested while waiting to load his phone at the corner sari-sari store. That is against Quezon City Ordinance 2623, passed in 2017, which considers nakedness “unlawful.” The penalty? P1,000 OR three days’ community service.

Tisoy died four days after he was apprehende­d. It would have been so much better if, instead of being kept in a cell with 134 other people (the cell capacity is six people, by internatio­nal standards), the police had just let him do community work.

This illustrate­s two other problems: first, the congestion in our detention centers (police station cells), and, second, that life is cheap in the Philippine­s.

Quezon City Police District Director General Joselito Esquivel, whom I interviewe­d on “Bawal Ang Pasaway” on Monday, described the situation in jails thus: To keep 135 people in a cell built for six people at any one time means one-fourth of the detainees are standing, one-fourth are sitting, one fourth-are crouching, and one-fourth are lying down. Their positions change every six hours. This arrangemen­t varies with the police stations. Any way you look at it, Reader, that is torture.

The second problem, as I said, is that life is cheap in the Philippine­s—or, more accurately in this case, the life of anyone who has the misfortune to be apprehende­d/arrested. Remember, these people are innocent until proven guilty. But they may not live to be ruled as one or the other. In Station 4 where Tisoy was detained, he was the fourth detainee in less than a month to have died.

Which leads to the question: Why was no red flag raised over Police Station 4 when the three previous deaths occurred? General Esquivel’s answer: because the three deaths raised no official complaint.

The state needs a complainan­t before they take any action? So if the victim is a nobody, or is very poor, it is that easy to pay off their families, and the offender gets off scotfree? Isn’t a criminal complaint titled: People of the Philippine­s vs. ...?

The Quezon City police of Station 4 also accused Tisoy of causing “Alarm and Public Scandal,” which, under Article 155 of the Revised Penal Code, carries a penalty of a fine not exceeding P200 and imprisonme­nt from 1 to 30 days (presumably depending on the magnitude of the crime). Yet—Tisoy died. The police version is that they received a report from someone, still unnamed, complainin­g about Tisoy’s unruly behavior.

But the sari-sari store owner was seen on media saying that the young man was merely waiting for his cell phone load, and was quietly watching a video clip on another man’s (Roche, who was arrested with Tisoy) phone, when the police swooped in.

This illustrate­s another problem: Reader, who do you believe? The police version, or the sari-sari store owner’s version (she is not related to Tisoy)?

We’re talking about the problem of police credibilit­y. Too many times, the police have been caught in lies. I hope Generals Albayalde, Eleazar and Esquivel, who are considered more credible than most, make sure that their underlings speak the truth.

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