Amid quarantine violation, Eleazar laments ‘culture of palakasan’ in PH

(FILE PHOTO) Retired PNP chief Guillermo Eleazar.

MANILA, Philippines — Former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief and now senatorial aspirant Guillermo Eleazar said the case of a Filipina who evaded the rule on quarantine and attended a party in Makati reflects a “deeply-rooted problem” on the “culture of palakasan” in the country.

Eleazar said he was angered by the incident and noted that Filipinos should take it as a wake-up call to “do something concrete” to end the culture of “palakasan.” He said this culture leads to lack of discipline and rule of law.

“The case of this returning Filipino who skipped the quarantine protocol represents everything that is wrong about the culture of palakasan in the country,” he said in a statement.

“Hindi naman magkakaroon ng lakas ng loob ang taong ito na labagin ang regulasyon kung hindi ito pinayagan at kung una pa lang ay maliwanag sa kanya na hindi pinapayagan ito.”

(She won’t have the confidence to violate the regulation if it is clear to her that it is not allowed.)

Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat earlier said that the woman “boasted of having connections” after skipping quarantine and attending a party in Makati City. She arrived in the Philippines on December 22.

The woman also visited a restaurant and bar in Makati City on December 23, according to Interior Secretary Eduardo Año. He said she may have infected 15 people.

“Ang bulok na sistema ng palakasan ay isang malalim na problema na tila normal na sa ating bansa. Mula sa simpleng pila sa pagkuha ng mga dokumento sa gobyerno, paglabag sa batas trapiko hanggang sa pag-a-apply ng trabaho sa gobyerno,” Eleazar said.

(The rotten system of palakasan [or abusing one’s connections] is a deep problem that seems to be normal in the country, starting from queuing up for getting government documents, violations of traffic rules, and applying for work in government.)

Eleazar then pointed out that he expanded the QR code system in the PNP recruitment when he became PNP chief. He said that this resulted in a leveled playing field for all applicants and eradicated the culture of bribery in PNP recruitment.

“Ito ang giniba natin sa PNP recruitment noon dahil nakita natin ang masamang epekto nito kung saan nakapasok ang mga bugok na pulis sa hanay ng kapulisan. Kung nagawa kong buwagin ito sa PNP simula noong ako ay nasa NCRPO pa lamang, kaya nating gibain din ito sa lahat ng ahensya ng pamahalaan,” said Eleazar.

(This is what we eradicated from the PNP recruitment because I saw its negative effect wherein rotten policemen are able to enter the police service. If I was able to destroy this system in the PNP even when I was at the National Capital Region Police Office, I would be able to do it in all agencies of government.)

“Ang kailangan lamang ay mabigyan ng pagkakataon ang mas maraming tao na maninindigan sa tama at may tapang at dedikasyon na labanan ang mali at bulok na sistemang ito,” the retired PNP chief added.

(We just need to provide a chance to people who stand for what is right and have the courage and dedication to fight this wrong system.)

JPV