‘Get out of town by sundown’

Watching the participants in the Senate hearing on extra judicial killings, it seemed like a reunion of sort for the Yellow Ribbon community. Assessing what has been happening of late concerning Senator De Lima, I would caution her critics either to be straight and true with their hit on De Lima or they will end up creating another “Icon” for the Yellow community who, just like Cory and P-Noy, might become the martyr and next resident in Malacañang. The history is there.

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Many commentators were puzzled by the announcement of President Duterte that all “appointive positions” or political appointment are deemed vacant as of early Sunday morning, Aug. 21. Why did the President single out the LTO and the LTFRB in the same breath? What about the poor Asecs Edgar Galvante and Martin Delgra who seemed to have been swept under by the Duterte Tsunami?  I suspect that this was the only way for Duterte or Secretary Tugade to do a clean sweep and remove overstaying political appointees who’ve tied themselves to their office chair as far back as FVR and PGMA’s time. I believe that Galvante and Delgra have in fact tried to get the job done but made a serious mistake in depending on insiders especially those entrenched in the bureaucracy if not the corruption. They may also have been stymied or ill-advised by long-time political appointees and residents at the DOTC who hold higher positions as Undersecretary but whose only qualifications are MAs and PhDs on paper but useless in dealing with problems on the streets.

As a result, Secretary Tugade’s dynamic duo may have failed to appreciate or keep up with the leadership style of President Duterte, which is similar to a Western movie or cowboy pic where the town sheriff walks up to the bad guys, stare them down and then tell them: “I’m giving you until sundown to get out of town.”

There’s a method to the madness and even former BIR Commissioner Kim Henares relied greatly on shame campaigns or threats in order to push out undesirables at the BIR, or tax evaders because it would take her at least five to six years before she can kick them out or send them to jail if she chose to file charges against them in court. General Bato dela Rosa quickly adopted the style and words of President Duterte. No sugar coating, pedestrian level language, and a sufficient amount of threats. But if you can’t walk the talk you won’t get far. Delgra and Galvante should have done similarly.

Given the impression that the LTFRB and the LTO are two of the most corrupt agencies, the two Asecs could have figured out who to line up for their internal shame campaign or placed them in the corner on a stool to amount to nothing. The crooks and mafia at the LTFRB and the LTO are still all there and no one was told to get out of town or better yet assigned to a box in Jolo.

As a quick review of missed opportunities, Galvante and Delgra failed to come up with their own hit list, failed to “talk tough” about known characters with a history of corruption, failed to expose the business conspiracy inside their agencies. Failed to break the power of centralization that people in the head office and regional offices use to collect tong. Both failed to put together a corrupt -free law enforcement task force that should have been sent out to hound every violation regarding vehicles. Unlike the PNP, the LTO and the LTFRB did not go on the attack, were not seen pulling over jeepneys, hauling tricycles, as well as buses for not having tail lights, seat belts, blurred or no license plates etc. In Lipa City alone so many motorcycle riders drive without the mandatory helmets, Over-extended jeepneys regularly block the highway because they can’t do a simple U-turn because of poor steering design.

In their line of work and with their kind of boss both Duterte and the Filipino people, Delgra and Galvante will have to do more than just run the office, they have to declare an all out war on corruption in their agencies.

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Critics believe that the killing won’t solve the drug problem and we can’t stop illegal drugs in the Philippines. Albert Einstein teaches us: “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking that created them”

So now that we have declared a shooting war against drug dealers, what needs to change next? We need to increase the number of our policemen to at least double the current number of 170,000 officers. Because crime is often a matter of opportunity and a question of being caught we need to finally develop or train more policemen instead of houseboys and messengers turned security guard or Barangay Tanod and believe the lie that these uneducated, untrained persons are real “Force Multipliers.” We need to invest in several training/school facilities and not just one Police Academy with barely any funding and lots of politics.

We also need to revisit requirements for entry-level cops. Two Police generals I know lament the policy requiring 2 years college etc., because now the PNP is getting SPO1s with PhDs but who resist being sent out on foot patrol or are glued to their desks. The generals believe that with sufficient training the PNP can take in high school graduates who’ve finished k to 12 and would be around 18 years old. They can be hired for foot patrol without having to give them guns but nightsticks and maze. Given that the PNP really has a continuing education and training program for its officers they can get the numbers for recruits and slowly develop them through the ranks and experience. Such an approach will also create a level playing field for young adults whose only reason for not being in college is because they can’t afford it.

If all these actually take root in the system, the proposal of President Duterte to double police salaries will surely give us better paid policemen with better benefits and who would not risk losing a good thing!

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