JP\/5\/MANILA<\/p>\n
Manila Daily Inquirer
\nAsia News Network
\nManila<\/p>\n
The reporters covering the beat had every reason to laugh, at
\nleast to themselves if not outwardly. That was in reaction to the
\nclaim of the Philippine National police that it had solved 93
\npercent of crimes in this country. That was the grade it gave
\nitself some days ago in a press conference. That means, as
\nDirector Thompson Lantion explicitly said, that it has solved
\nnine out of every 10 cases that have come its way.<\/p>\n
As the reporters themselves kidded each other during the press
\nconference, that means the only crime the police haven't solved
\nyet is the Nida Blanca murder.<\/p>\n
It is not all a laughing matter, however. Particularly when
\nyou look at the surveys done by the Social Weather Stations and
\nthe National Statistics Office showing that most Filipinos
\nbelieve their quality of life has taken a nosedive, thanks in no
\nsmall way to crime. And then you hear stories about businessmen,
\nparticularly those of Chinese descent or provenance, deciding to
\npack up and leave as a result of runaway kidnappings.<\/p>\n
A couple of months ago, the startling statistic was one
\nkidnapping per day. Which did not include those kidnappings that
\nnever took place because the potential victims paid ransom in
\nadvance. That probably qualifies as extortion, but will not be
\nfound in the blotters of the PNP.<\/p>\n
The case of Blanca itself suggests how the PNP got the figures
\nit did. We can believe it solves nine out of 10 of its cases.
\nWhat we cannot believe is that it solves them correctly. Those
\nare two different things. The PNP's rush to solve crimes, a mad
\nrush that involves arresting fall guys, beating them black and
\nblue to wring out confessions and declaring a case shut, is
\nlegendary. Not everyone is bold, or crazy, enough to retract a
\nconfession like Philip Medel. Most suspects are glad to keep
\ntheir hides or their lives, if not their freedom, and go along
\nwith their captors.<\/p>\n
That is how most crimes are solved in this country, which only
\nadds to the sum of them. The PNP itself says it has excelled in
\nsolving crimes related to drugs, kidnappings and loose firearms.
\nThere, too, we can believe that the PNP solves nine out of 10
\ncases of that nature. The drug lords, kidnap for ransom gangs and
\ngunrunners are fairly well known to the police. It is just a
\nquestion of rounding them up every so often for the photo
\nopportunity.<\/p>\n
The real problem, as one letter-writer pointed out sometime
\nago, is what happens to the drugs. The police have no lack of
\npictures showing the shabu they have managed to recover from drug
\nbusts, said the letter-writer, but whatever happens to the shabu
\nafterwards? She herself, said the letter-writer, has seen no
\npictures of the police destroying the shabu (and other drugs)
\nthey have recovered.<\/p>\n
Good point, and the same may be said for kidnapping and loose
\nfirearms. The reason the Chinese are leaving is that they are not
\nleft well enough alone after one kidnapping. They are kidnapped
\nagain and again. As to the loose firearms, only heaven knows
\nwhere they end up. The popular conception is that they end up in
\n\"salvagings\" or in the hands of assets sent to do truly dirty
\nwork. The conception did not become popular for nothing.<\/p>\n
If we recall right, the PNP also gave itself exceptionally
\nhigh marks for solving crimes last year. Which only shows that
\nmany of its people are in the wrong profession. They would do so
\nmuch better being stand-up comics.<\/p>\n
The surveys by the SWS and the National Statistics Office,
\nmerely confirm what everyone knows all along. Life has gotten
\nharder, and will probably get worse before it gets better. You
\ncan see it in the mood of people this Christmas. And in the sob
\nstories of people like the lantern-makers of Bulacan, Pampanga
\nand Tarlac.<\/p>\n
It's not just the carols that have disappeared from the
\nFilipino Christmas, the lanterns have, too. For most Filipinos
\nthis year, Christmas is cheer, but better beer, or cash.<\/p>\n
The only comfort -- though often a cold one -- you can take
\nfrom it is that the Filipino has been through worse times and
\nsurvived. And even then, you wonder if he did so always
\ncompletely intact, with all his dysfunctional behavior
\nafterwards. But the poor are something to worry about. Last year
\nalready saw an explosion of rage from the wretched of the earth,
\nwhich had all the earmarks of the social volcano blowing its top.
\nYou wonder what next year will bring.<\/p>\n
There is one bright spot, which is that this country has not
\nlost its sense of humor. It can still afford to laugh even when
\nthe PNP says it solves crimes rather than commits them.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jp5manila-1447899208",
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