EDITORIAL - Swift action

Too bad crooks refused to take a break during the weeklong general assembly in Manila of the Inter-Parliamentary Union. But at least cops were on their toes, arresting within 18 hours a man suspected to have robbed an IPU delegate.

Police said pedicab driver Victorio Mallari admitted robbing at knifepoint George Brion, deputy secretary general of the Belgian parliament, early Tuesday morning in Manila. Mallari, however, claimed his cohort named Jess, who is at large, took Brion’s wallet with cash, credit cards and personal documents.

Brion had taken Mallari’s pedicab to go to a church in Pasay City. After the mugging was reported, police, acting on a tip, conducted a saturation drive in tricycle and pedicab stations in the area, which led to Mallari’s arrest.

The police action was commendable, but one wonders if the response would have been as swift if the victim had not been an IPU delegate. Robberies are common here, but most Filipinos simply write off valuables lost to pickpockets and muggers especially in Metro Manila. Cell phones lost to snatchers are rarely recovered, which is probably why victims often put up a fight instead of pinning their hopes on the police. Several victims have been killed for refusing to hand over their cell phones to muggers.

This doesn’t have to be the case if cops are on the job. Muggers, petty thieves and their fences usually operate near their own neighborhoods. Often their identities are known to people in their communities, including barangay officials and even police. Cops are supposed to work closely with communities in their jurisdictions. Just from a victim’s description of a mugger or snatcher, a competent cop can track down and arrest a suspect.

These days this type of police work is rarely seen, except when the victim is prominent and the case attracts media coverage. If this kind of law enforcement becomes the rule rather than the exception, the government will be surprised at the resulting surge in public confidence in the police.