Another inspection full of surprises

President Arroyo again let loose her anger yesterday afternoon after she found several pirated video compact discs (VCDs) inside the office of a police station’s acting commander.

The President made her discovery during a surprise visit to the Central Police District (CPD)-Station 7 in Cubao, Quezon City.

Supt. Efren Manuel Sta. Inez paled when he saw the President and tried to explain the presence of the pirated VCDs in his office. He is the officer-in-charge of the police station while Cubao Station Commander Supt. Rosendo Franco is attending a seminar abroad.

Mrs. Arroyo grabbed a copy of a pirated pornographic VCD near Franco’s computer as she underscored the moral responsibility of police officers to the Cubao police station officer-in-charge.

"Terrible," she exclaimed before ordering a probe on how pornographic VCDs found their way into the office of Franco.

The President arrived at the CPD-Station 7 past 3 p.m. and left after a conference with the lawmen regarding their actions to improve the fight against criminals and illegal activities, especially illegal drugs.

Supt. Carlito Feliciano explained that the VCDs kept inside the office of the station commander were part of the lot of pirated videos they had just seized in Cubao.

In an interview with The Star, Feliciano said the 569 VCDs were seized during an operation they conducted around 2:45 p.m. yesterday along Romulo Street near the COD department store.

He said the operation was part of their regular routine in line with their anti-street vending program.

"Nilagay muna namin doon dahil kailangan pa naming ipaalam sa aming station commander ang tungkol sa mga nakumpiska namin bago ilagay sa stock room. Nagkataon naman na dumating si Presidente at naabutan niya yun doon (We put them there because we need to inform our station commander of the seizure of these items before putting them in the stock room. Then the President arrived and found them there)," Feliciano told The Star.

Feliciano, who was present during the conference, said the President asked for their accomplishment report on the campaign on illegal drugs and told them to coordinate closely with the local government units (LGUs) and non-government organizations (NGOs) in the effort to curb the drug menace. — Katherine Adraneda