ASEAN Summit policemen Life away from home and family

There's the pain of being far from home and family, the queer feeling of being a stranger in a city, and the lack of essential equipment to make them a force to reckon with for a bigger task ahead -that of helping secure the ASEAN Summit this December.

These are among the many facets in the lives of policemen, or field training program trainees to be exact, who were recently deployed in Cebu City for their six-month training that includes securing the international grand event.

Still in their youth, these policemen from Mindanao are not the typical armed policemen because they have no firearms at all, which gets them teased as "interns" or students. They jokingly said their superiors are probably afraid they would shoot other people indiscriminately.

The Freeman recently had the chance two speak to two policemen billeted at the second floor of the One Citilink Terminal.

This spacious rectangular room has been converted into a living quarters with bunks, hammocks, plastic partitions, clotheslines, trusses for hanging clothes hanging from the ceiling. Bags, personal effects and parts of uniforms lie around in a state of organized chaos.

Police Officer 1 Ailicar Tindugan, batch leader of the trainees from Region 9, says it succinctly: "It's not their job to complain because they entered the (police) organization not to be served but to be of service to the public."

Tindugan is from Dipolog City, Zamboanga del Norte, where he has two daughters -one two years old the other four- and a wife working as a schoolteacher.

Although looking like a typical police recruit, Tindugan says he has no time to relax and unwind like some of his peers because being next in command to Insp. Jun Rojonan he is responsible of supervising his batchmates and their assignments here.

Tindugan entered the PNP only this year after serving as an errand boy, commonly known as "striker", to three regional directors since 2003, the last of whom was Chief Supt. Prospero Noble.

"Sugo-sugoon ko usahay tighugas og plato, usahay tigtubag sa telepono, tigtimpla og kape ug tiglimpyo sa sakyanan sa RD (regional director), pero wala gyud to makatabang nako sa pang-apply kay katulo man gani ko natagak," Tindugan recalls his "tig"-life before becoming a policeman.

Tindugan say they never complained about their quarters although he admitted that, during their first day here two weeks ago, there were some problems like the absence of bunks, toilets, running water and where to get their food.

The city government has sent a water tanker truck to attend to their daily needs, portable toilets, and a mobile clinic have also been made available, says Tindugan.

The free meals the city government has provided, during their first three days, were also of great help to them considering that most of them do not know the place and where to buy food.

Another trainee, PO1 Dandie Estaphor, is among the 175 men from Region 10 camp based in Cagayan de Oro City.

A native of barangay Igpit at Opol town in Misamis Oriental, Estaphor says their fortnightly salary of P4,900 (for single men) and P5,000 (for married men) is not enough for their daily expenses.

He has found a creative way to get his meals. He "enrolled" in some small eateries for what he called an "eat now, pay when the salary arrives plan".

Estaphor says the initial jitters of youths in a new place got some of his batchmates into a spending binge but they realized their follies before it was too late. They too are now also "enrolled" like him.

Back at their Regional Training School, Estaphor says a trainee has P1,800 food allowance, which he wishes he had here.

A week ago, the city government announced it would help the trainees with a P1,000 monthly allowance during their stay here. Estaphor said such would help them a lot. "Mas maayo unta kung mahinayon kay makatabang na sa among allowance," he says.

Having no firearms has been apparently a liability to these trainees, who are sometimes asked by some people: "From what school are you?"

"Usahay lagi kay mura'g tuyuon na og pangutana kay maypa daw ang tanod ug sikyu kay dunay armas," Estaphor says.

Their quarters used to be home to 275 trainees two weeks ago, but they were trimmed down to 75 now after most of them were already deployed to various police stations in the city . (To be concluded)