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.