The day WPD declared war

A day before the 105th celebration of Independence Day, the Western Police District (WPD) went into "war mode" yesterday, after mistakenly hanging a number of Philippine flags with the red panel on the left side, an indication that the country was at war.

When positioned vertically, the Philippine flag should be displayed with the blue panel on the left and the red panel on the right side of the flagpole at peacetime.

"The flags were wrongfully displayed. It’s a good thing somebody called the attention of the WPD officials, who immediately corrected the position(of the flags)," WPD spokesperson Gerry Agunod admitted.

It was gathered that subordinates of Superintendent Efren Perez, WPD camp commander, set up the flags in time for the nation’s 105th Independence Day celebration on Friday.

A police officer said the flags were "displayed" the right way before dawn yesterday, but Perez had them reversed when he conducted an inspection.

Six flags were hung on the steel fences fronting WPD headquarters on U.N. Avenue in Manila and each division office inside the Manila police headquarters had a flag each.

A public high school and a convenience store, located a stone’s throw away from WPD headquarters displayed their flags properly.

When reached for comment, a visibly bothered Perez asked reporters not to make a big fuss of his mistake. "Wala yon, wag n’yo nang palakihin. (That’s nothing, don’t make a big deal out of it)," said Perez.

Observers, however, said policemen should know the right position of the Philippine flag, a very basic code designed to inform Filipinos whether or not the country is at war.

The error reached the office of WPD director Chief Superintendent Pedro Bulaong, who scolded his men. – Cecille Suerte Felipe