Where to, Joey Lina?

You may, or may not, believe it, but the crime statistics of the past year have gone down compared to those of the year previous. This declaration comes from the Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Joey Lina.

The Secretary met with a number of newspaperwomen the other night, and his efficient public relations officer, Ivy Cosio-Bautista, provided us with printed reports to confirm statements made by her boss about peace and order having improved under his ministrations.

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To illustrate, below are some of the Department's accomplishments:

– For the period August 1-Dec. 31, 2002, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (one of the agencies under the DILG) undertook a total of 8,324 operations against illegal drugs, 6,763 of which were conducted in coordination with other law enforcement agencies while the 1,561 operations were conducted by PDEA alone.

– Arrested were 8,873 drug personalities; P4.26 billion worth of illegal drugs, controlled precursors, chemicals and equipment were confiscated, and 5,536 drug-related cases were filed in court.

– The total value of dangerous drugs, controlled precursors, essential chemicals and laboratory equipment seized recorded a 33 per cent increase, from P3.91-billion in 2001 to P5.3 billion in 2002.

– Four clandestine shabu laboratories were dismantled; 12 foreign nationals were separately apprehended during five anti-drug operations in Metro Manila, Regions 3 and 4; the PDEA along with other law enforcement agencies neutralized a known transnational group called Target 100 which had been involved in the trafficking of marijuana from its source in Baguio City to Japan. Also neutralized were 32 of 215 identified local drug groups, including the Kumander Bravo Drug Group which used to operate in Region XII.

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– As to illegal gambling, 29,075 anti-illegal gambling operations were conducted, resulting in the arrest of 33,539 persons and confiscation of bets amounting to around P10-billion. Illegal gambling cases totaling 12,046 were filed in court, compared to 9,953 in 2001. Considered a major accomplishment is the successful soliciting by DILG of the support of Senators Robert Barbers and Noli de Castro, and Congressmen Prospero Pichay, Gilbert Remulla and Rozzano Rufino Bianon in amending PD 1602 to provide stiffer penalties for jueteng and other illegal numbers games.

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– As to kidnapping, kidnap-for-ransom incidents decreased by 32 per cent, with 67 cases in 2002 compared to 99 in 2001.

– The anti-carnapping campaign resulted in the reduction of reported stolen vehicles in 2002 by 5 pre cent. Recovery of stolen vehicles efficiency increased by 12 per cent.

– More smuggled goods were confiscated and more persons were arrested, and the illegal logging campaign resulted in a 53 per cent increase in the volume of board ft. recovered from 1.8 million.

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The Secretary is rather proud of PATROL 117’s increasing its service capacity by 81 per cent, resulting in the establishment of 49 telephone hotlines in 2002, serving 24 cities in 10 regions, compared to 27 hotlines in 2001 serving NCR only. I guess with more hotlines people are able to report criminal activities to the police.

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Still the image of bad policemen stays with a lot of people afraid for their lives at home and in the streets. Lina agrees that so much more could be done to have peace and order, but there is the question of a very small number of policemen in proportion to the population. There are only 15,000 policemen for Manila's population of 11 million, compared to 49,000 policemen for 11 million persons in New York City.

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Joey's government service has been varied and colorful. A lawyer (he graduated from the UP College of Law), he was active in the anti-Marcos movement. When Corazon Aquino took over as President, she appointed him governor of the Metro Manila Commission. He then ran for the Senate and won, and ran and won again for a second term. After that he was elected governor of Laguna province. A good man is always sought after, so it was not a surprise when President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo asked him to head the DILG.

Will he run in the 2004 senatorial election? And why not for president or vice-president? At the dinner (where he hardly ate except to munch on a slice of fruit), he smiled and said he will know in three months‚ time. Let's wait and see.

There are people who dislike him for the Lina Law, which they perceive to give squatters the right to occupy private properties. Joey says he has been vilified for this law which has been misunderstood. (This is a topic for another column.)

I will wait for his decision, but being a feminist, I want to know his stand on women's reproductive health, and being a director of the Center for the Promotion of Peace and Development of Mindanao, I want to know his strategy for winning the peace in Mindanao.

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On another front, the Podium Organic Lifestyle Weekend Market along Julia Vargas Street, Mandaluyong, is offering something new – in addition to its market of organically-grown farm products. This is a series of public information lectures, cooking demos and mini seminars, to be held in the lobby of Banco de Oro. The first series kicks off this morning at 9:30-11 o'clock. The topic will be organic waste management and doing your own compost. The speakers will be Dr. Basug of UP Los Banos and Nonoy Zuniga.

On February 15, the topic will be why vegetarian cuisine has to be organic, with cooking demo speaker Shay Sangco Tamayo. On March l, the speaker will be Rosalina Q. Tan, president of Organic Producers and Traders Association (OPTA). The topic on March 15 will be health benefits and other aspects of free-range chicken farming, with Eva Rose Pua, president of Everrich Farms as speaker. Do your marketing for fresh vegetable and herbs and fruits at this weekend market.

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My e-mail address: dominimt2000@yahoo.com