FIRST SAY:
“If you think that it would be impossible to improve upon the Ten Commandments as a statement of morality, you really owe it to yourself to read some other scriptures. Once again, we need look no further than the Jains: Mahavira, the Jain patriarch, surpassed the morality of the Bible with a single sentence: 'Do not injure, abuse, oppress, enslave, insult, torment, torture, or kill any creature or living being.' Imagine how different our world might be if the Bible contained this as its central precept. Christians have abused, oppressed, enslaved, insulted, tormented, tortured, and killed people in the name of God for centuries, on the basis of a theologically defensible reading of the Bible.”
― Sam Harris, Letter to a Christian Nation
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The Philippine National Police (PNP) is implementing laws or rules where there are none, to the consternation of Sen. Francis “Tol” Tolentino.
The problem surfaced apparently when two male motorcycle riders of the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) were arrested by police in Paranaque City last Wednesday, while escorting the senator’s vehicle. The two riders were told that they or their motorcycles had violations—apparently the stickers on their motorcycles.
After this, the PNP held a press conference led by spokeswoman Police Col. Jean Fajardo. The topic was the recent arrests of police and other law enforcement agents for various violations, such as moonlighting. Fajardo discussed the arrest of the MMDA motorcycle riders and another incident involving a police officer.
Colonel Fajardo claimed that the MMDA riders were wearing police uniforms, a statement that Senator Tolentino refuted. The senator asserted that he was present during the incident and that the riders were not in police attire.
“It appears that PCol. Fajardo has mixed up details of separate incidents involving the arrest of riders and a police officer,” Tolentino said. “As a spokesperson, it is your duty and obligation to the general public to provide the correct information.”
The two MMDA riders were charged with Usurpation of Authority and Illegal Use of Insignia.
“They were charged with Usurpation of Authority, yet they never impersonated police officers. Secondly, they were charged with improper use of stickers, but there is no law prohibiting the use of stickers. Perhaps insignias, but the stickers weren’t even on their uniforms,” Tolentino said.
The senator questioned the basis for the PNP Highway Patrol Group’s arrest of the MMDA riders, pointing out that no guidelines are currently in place. The two arrested riders were released on Thursday due to insufficient evidence.
The PNP HPG confirmed also that the MMDA’s escort of Senator Tolentino was authorized.
Also, no law was violated as the MMDA owned the motorcycles with the markings. He called for clarity on the policy regarding the use of blinkers, stickers, and decals, as well as the operational jurisdiction of the HPG.
After this incident on the road—which could have turned for the worse as another road rage encounter—the PNP spokesperson announced that the PNP plans to form a multi-agency team with the Department of Transportation and the MMDA to develop guidelines for apprehending motorists who are illegally using police markings and marked vehicles.
While we are in this topic, haven’t you noticed that many barangay vehicles are marked “Barangay Police” instead of “Barangay Tanod”? I noticed, too, that this is rampant in Quezon City barangays.
By calling themselves “police,” the barangay tanods are actually misrepresenting themselves, especially to foreign tourists who do not know our system of government in the lowest level. People might believe that they are genuine policemen because of the blinkers and the “wang-wang” devices attached to their vehicles.
I honestly think that Secretary Benhur Abalos of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) which has jurisdiction over the barangays should do something about this—and put the barangay tanods were they belong.
If the PNP Highway Patrol Group is serious in its campaign against illegal markings on government vehicles, then they should begin with those used by barangay tanods who call themselves “Barangay Police.”
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His friends and colleagues said he was an ordinary, peaceful guy, and so they were surprised upon hearing that car and motorcycle enthusiast Gerard Raymond Yu was involved in a murderous road rage in Makati City.
Yu is a businessman from Pasig City, reports say. He is facing a murder charge after he was identified as the driver of a black Mercedes-Benz sedan who allegedly shot another motorist dead in a “road rage” incident near the busy Edsa-Ayala tunnel in Makati City on Tuesday afternoon.
The police said the suspect, Gerard Raymond Yu, was arrested on Wednesday morning at his residence in Riverside Village, Pasig, where they also seized the vehicle that figured in the incident as well as a pair of .40-caliber pistols, one of which is believed to be the gun that was fired.
Wearing a face mask and with his head covered by a black jacket, the suspect was presented at Camp Crame at a press conference called by the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Philippine National Police.
However stringent the requirements for the licensing and possession of firearms outside the residence are, unfortunate incidents such as this still happen. It’s back to revisiting our firearms laws.
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