JP/5/MANILA

JP/5/MANILA

Manila Daily Inquirer Asia News Network Manila

The reporters covering the beat had every reason to laugh, at least to themselves if not outwardly. That was in reaction to the claim of the Philippine National police that it had solved 93 percent of crimes in this country. That was the grade it gave itself some days ago in a press conference. That means, as Director Thompson Lantion explicitly said, that it has solved nine out of every 10 cases that have come its way.

As the reporters themselves kidded each other during the press conference, that means the only crime the police haven't solved yet is the Nida Blanca murder.

It is not all a laughing matter, however. Particularly when you look at the surveys done by the Social Weather Stations and the National Statistics Office showing that most Filipinos believe their quality of life has taken a nosedive, thanks in no small way to crime. And then you hear stories about businessmen, particularly those of Chinese descent or provenance, deciding to pack up and leave as a result of runaway kidnappings.

A couple of months ago, the startling statistic was one kidnapping per day. Which did not include those kidnappings that never took place because the potential victims paid ransom in advance. That probably qualifies as extortion, but will not be found in the blotters of the PNP.

The case of Blanca itself suggests how the PNP got the figures it did. We can believe it solves nine out of 10 of its cases. What we cannot believe is that it solves them correctly. Those are two different things. The PNP's rush to solve crimes, a mad rush that involves arresting fall guys, beating them black and blue to wring out confessions and declaring a case shut, is legendary. Not everyone is bold, or crazy, enough to retract a confession like Philip Medel. Most suspects are glad to keep their hides or their lives, if not their freedom, and go along with their captors.

That is how most crimes are solved in this country, which only adds to the sum of them. The PNP itself says it has excelled in solving crimes related to drugs, kidnappings and loose firearms. There, too, we can believe that the PNP solves nine out of 10 cases of that nature. The drug lords, kidnap for ransom gangs and gunrunners are fairly well known to the police. It is just a question of rounding them up every so often for the photo opportunity.

The real problem, as one letter-writer pointed out sometime ago, is what happens to the drugs. The police have no lack of pictures showing the shabu they have managed to recover from drug busts, said the letter-writer, but whatever happens to the shabu afterwards? She herself, said the letter-writer, has seen no pictures of the police destroying the shabu (and other drugs) they have recovered.

Good point, and the same may be said for kidnapping and loose firearms. The reason the Chinese are leaving is that they are not left well enough alone after one kidnapping. They are kidnapped again and again. As to the loose firearms, only heaven knows where they end up. The popular conception is that they end up in "salvagings" or in the hands of assets sent to do truly dirty work. The conception did not become popular for nothing.

If we recall right, the PNP also gave itself exceptionally high marks for solving crimes last year. Which only shows that many of its people are in the wrong profession. They would do so much better being stand-up comics.

The surveys by the SWS and the National Statistics Office, merely confirm what everyone knows all along. Life has gotten harder, and will probably get worse before it gets better. You can see it in the mood of people this Christmas. And in the sob stories of people like the lantern-makers of Bulacan, Pampanga and Tarlac.

It's not just the carols that have disappeared from the Filipino Christmas, the lanterns have, too. For most Filipinos this year, Christmas is cheer, but better beer, or cash.

The only comfort -- though often a cold one -- you can take from it is that the Filipino has been through worse times and survived. And even then, you wonder if he did so always completely intact, with all his dysfunctional behavior afterwards. But the poor are something to worry about. Last year already saw an explosion of rage from the wretched of the earth, which had all the earmarks of the social volcano blowing its top. You wonder what next year will bring.

There is one bright spot, which is that this country has not lost its sense of humor. It can still afford to laugh even when the PNP says it solves crimes rather than commits them.