PNP chief defends drive vs ‘tambays’

CEBU, Philippines —  Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Oscar Albayalde defended his directive to round up loiterers on the streets during nighttime to address the peace and order problem in the country.

Albayalde, who was in Cebu yesterday, said the directive is a form of crime deterrence in the community. He said that by doing it, people will be less exposed to lawless elements and less likely to cause trouble.

“Hindi maganda na naka-standby tayo sa gabi, lalo  na sa delikadong lugar, this is for their safety also, dahil baka mamaya sa mga critical na lugar naka-standby ka, mapagkamalan ka,” Albayalde said.

President Rodrigo Duterte earlier ordered the police to have the streets cleared from loiterers, especially those who are shirtless and are drinking.

Based on the initial plan, loiterers caught for the first time will be reprimanded while those who will be caught the next time might be charged with vagrancy.

Albayalde said that when he was director of the National Capital Region, loiterers caught in Quezon City were fined P350.

“Ginagawa namin yan, when I was director in NCRPO, may push up for first offenders kasi naawa tayo pag-nakulong they will be fined mga P350, ang iba depende sa city,” he said.

He said that the law maybe outdated but they will enforce it to ensure safety in the community.

Albayalde said that the peace and order situation will matter in the evaluation of the performance of the police units.

According to Albayalde, he will not only consider the accomplishments of the police unit in the evaluation but the peace and order situation was well. A bad peace and order situation could be a ground for relief of the commander. — FPL (FREEMAN)