Public safety

It’s good to hear President Duterte saying he does not like to kill, and he does not go for “salvaging” or summary executions.

Among others, he’s referring to cases wherein suspects whose hands are cuffed behind their backs upon arrest are shot dead by the arresting cops purportedly after trying to grab the officers’ gun.

That’s what happened to the unfortunate motorcycle rider John dela Riarte, who was arrested by the police Highway Patrol Group (HPG) after he figured in a traffic accident and reportedly pounded the car with his helmet. Dela Riarte was shown in a video being punched several times as he was surrounded by a group of HPG and Metro Manila Development Authority traffic aides, and then being led away with his hands cuffed behind his back. Moments later, he was shot dead in a police car, with gunshots to the neck and chest.

No aggressive or unruly behavior, as alleged by the HPG, can justify killing an unarmed man with his hands cuffed. That arresting team will need legal acrobatics to be cleared of cold-blooded murder. This is not law enforcement but brazen lawbreaking and abuse of police powers.

If this abuse persists, cops will very quickly turn into figures of fear. This can discourage public cooperation that is indispensable for the success of any anti-crime campaign. And no grinning mascot or dummy of Philippine National Police chief Ronald dela Rosa will dispel that fear.

Worse, this kind of abuse will reverse the ultimate aim of this brutal anti-crime campaign, which is to make the public feel safe. How can you feel safe if you fear being murdered for the flimsiest reason by an approaching cop?

The other day as I was negotiating the northbound traffic along Roxas Boulevard on my way to our afternoon meeting at Malacañang with President Duterte, my car approached the intersection of Vito Cruz. The light was green and the car was crawling along in the middle of the intersection when we were stopped by two motorcycle cops, blinkers on and wang-wang blaring, coming from the Cultural Center area and ignoring the red light to let a white van with a backup white Innova pass.

When the VIP convoy had passed, we proceeded to cross the intersection since we were already in the middle of the junction, realizing too late that the light had turned red while the VIP convoy drove past. A man on a motorcycle, wearing a black shirt with “traffic elite” printed in the back and “Rider 14” in front, followed us and pulled us over. My driver apologized and we both explained that the VIP had ignored their red light and cut our path. Rider 14 still ordered the driver out, saying he would decide whether or not he would issue a traffic citation. I told Rider 14 wang-wangs are supposed to be banned. Also, why he didn’t he go after that convoy, which blatantly ignored the red light?

Since Rider 14 didn’t like being told he might be wrong, I told my driver to just get the darn citation. I forgot to warn him that traffic cops are not supposed to order drivers out of their vehicles because of the possibility of

kotong or extortion, and citations must be given through the driver’s window.

Rider 14 wouldn’t give a citation and we didn’t want to buy our way out. They began arguing and I told my driver to kneel down in apology if that was what it would take for us to get out of there. Rider 14 finally stopped when I asked who the jerk was in the convoy with the wang-wang. He claimed he didn’t know. And then he drove away, in a motorcycle with no license plates.

The wang-wang ban was one of the more popular policies of the Aquino administration. President Duterte, who eschews VIP treatment when he can and avoids attending gatherings because, he told us, he doesn’t like tying up traffic in Metro Manila, should reiterate this ban.

If he wants his anti-crime campaign to succeed, he may also want to make it clear to his shock troops that his full support for fighting criminality is no carte blanche for abusing state power and killing for sport.

I’m not the first to write about arrogance by traffic cops since the start of his administration. Police arrogance turns off anyone, and no smiling mascot will eclipse the memory of an unpleasant brush with cops.

Earlier this week I also spotted a white Innova with conduction sticker 3064 and what looked like a fake license plate, TYY 130, with “tax payer” written underneath. One problem with the new plates is that they are so easy to fake – all you need is black Pentel pen on a white background. On the left side of the plate was a Philippine flag shaped in the trademark Duterte fist. Are such plates legit, issued to a new privileged class?

The President was all graciousness and good humor during his hour-long meeting with The STAR the other day. We’re glad he’s ended his boycott of the media and agreed to meet with us. Almost everything we talked about you have read in the newspaper. The lighter details are in entertainment editor Ricky Lo’s article today.

President Rody was candid, with natural downhome charm and a great sense of humor that proved to be formidable assets during the campaign. It was the first time that we were introduced, although I got to ask him a question about coal plants during the presidential debate in Cebu.

In person he is a gentleman, addressing everyone as “ma’am” and “sir” even as he uses colorful language in fielding questions. The ways of the gentleman are dying in the younger generations and therefore much appreciated.

I must say though that I noticed the same gracious manners with at least two other men who successfully parlayed their notoriety as killers to win high public office.

President Duterte has repeatedly said he doesn’t mind criticism of his brutal methods. As you will read in today’s paper, he also told us that if he went to hell, he would kick out Satan.

He is uncomfortable with the size of his new office – too many rooms at Malacañang – and is still digesting the “miracle” that brought him there, without the support of governors except Ilocos Norte’s Imee Marcos and with only two mayors backing his bid.

President Rody sees his landslide win as a resounding endorsement of his promise to deal with the drug menace and criminality. It boils down to keeping the public safe.

And it won’t be achieved if law enforcers are seen as the biggest threats to public safety.