EDITORIAL - Safe cities

From Monday to Wednesday, police have rounded up 24,881 people for violating local ordinances all over Metro Manila.

These include 8,075 people drinking and smoking in public places, 2,672 men roaming the streets shirtless, 2,245 minors for loitering after the 10 p.m. curfew and 584 people engaging in late-night videoke sessions. The rest were apprehended for violating other local ordinances.

The clampdown is being carried out under the “Safer Cities Initiative” to deter crime, according to Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla, whose department has jurisdiction over the Philippine National Police.

PNP officials said those taken in were aware of the ordinances and did not resist being apprehended. Most of the offenses carry fines.

Law-abiding citizens may welcome the initiative, but authorities must also be mindful of concerns over possible abuses and human rights violations. Based on the country’s experience, such concerns are not baseless.

Valid points have also been raised about the initiative being anti-poor. Men go shirtless in public and children loiter outdoors mostly in slums, where dwellings and alleyways are so cramped and poorly ventilated. Any crackdown on such activities must be properly coordinated within the community for humane implementation. Keeping people safe must not aggravate the tribulations of poverty.

Youth groups also raised valid concerns about curtailing the movements of minors – meaning people aged 18 and below. Among impoverished households, many teenagers help put food on the table, earning through informal but not necessarily illegal channels – as vendors or errand runners, for example – even within the curfew hours set by authorities. Such youths often lack identification cards that are asked for by those implementing the Safe Cities Initiative.

The PNP has yet to rid itself of its record of gross human rights abuses related to the deadly war on drugs waged in the previous administration. It is being assisted in the initiative by barangay personnel, many of whom have themselves been charged with harassment, abusive behavior and offenses such as animal cruelty. In the previous administration, thousands of barangay captains were indicted for drug trafficking.

Filipinos have long complained that the country has too many laws and too little or weak enforcement. The government can now say that this isn’t the case following the initial shock and awe of the rollout of the Safe Cities Initiative.

After showing what authorities are capable of doing, they must now fine-tune the implementation.