Brig. Gen. Debold Sinas, acting director of the National Capital Region Police Office. (Photo from NCRPO)
MANILA, Philippines — The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) said Tuesday it will study how to address incidents of vandalism in the City of Manila after Mayor Isko Moreno fumed over the graffiti at the newly-painted Lagusnilad underpass and on a telecom box near the city hall.
“Actually nagcoordinate na sila, kaso syempre low morale ‘yung local government doon na after linisin, ganito… Kasi kumbaga matapos mo pagandahin, matapos mo linisin, pagkatapos ‘yung mga kababayan natin na pasaway, ayun dinadamay lahat,” Brig. Gen. Debold Sinas, acting NCRPO chief, said in a press briefing.
(Actually they have already coordinated with us, since of course, the local government has a low morale now… It seems that after they cleaned it, those who are wayward also drag others.)
“So sana hindi naman ganun kasi para sa lahat naman ‘yun… Huwag naman sirain ‘yung para sa publiko [So I hope it will not be like that. I hope they won’t destroy what is intended for the public],” he also said.
Sinas said officers of the Manila Police District (MPD) usually conduct patrols in these areas but added that vandals normally write on walls within the capital city in late hours where there are few passersby who could be witnesses.
“Pag-aralan namin ‘yan kung paano namin i-address ‘yan… Gagawan namin ng paraan ‘yan [We will study how we can address that. We will do something about it],” he said.
On Monday, an irked Moreno tried to remove the graffiti on a telecom box near the Manila City Hall using a paint thinner, but to no avail. This came days after he warned those who will be caught vandalizing public properties in the capital city to lick their writings off.
Panday Sining, the cultural arm of activist youth group Anakbayan, responsible for the protest slogans at the Lagusnilad underpass, said the writings were “protest art” meant to speak about the injustices in the Duterte administration.