Man behind ‘diapered cops’ says sorry

PHOTOS and a video of two “traffic enforcers” in adult diapers posted by a group which likes to pull pranks on unsuspecting crowds fail to tickle the Philippine National Police’s funny bone. The group behind the “social experiment ” claims it was merely trying to draw attention to the need for more portalets for traffic men on duty during Pope Francis’ visit.
Contributed photo

Judging by the huge number of negative comments it generated from netizens and the Philippine National Police (PNP), this social experiment was an epic fail.

Photographs of two “traffic officers” walking near Rizal Park before the papal Mass, dressed in nothing but adult diapers and what seemed to be police shirts, went viral over the weekend as the group behind it called the stunt a social experiment meant to highlight the need for more portalets.

On Tuesday, Paul Agabin of Project Awesome Philippines issued an apology and clarified that the pictures were taken while they were videotaping the two men posing as traffic enforcers.

According to him, the social experiment was aimed at “investigating the effect of officers wearing diapers due to limited portalets.”

“We would like to apologize to the public for the misunderstanding… We also apologize [on] behalf of Tony Ahn who uploaded the first batch of pictures. But netizens should [pin] the blame [on] us, not him,” Agabin said in a message.

The pictures went viral after Ahn, a netizen who said he saw the men on Roxas Boulevard, posted these on his Facebook page.

On its website, Project Awesome described itself “as the Philippines’ very first and only mob group [which pulls] epic inspirational surprises and pranks [on] unsuspecting crowds. Unlike others who just do practical jokes, we surprise our targets and inspire them to have fun in life.”

The PNP, however, was not amused and clarified that the two men featured in the social experiment were not policemen. It added that none of the 28,000 men it had deployed for crowd control during Pope Francis’ visit to the country wore diapers.

PNP spokesperson Chief Supt. Wilben Mayor told reporters in Camp Crame on Tuesday that the stunt was “an unfair portrayal of policemen who worked hard under the sun and rain to ensure the safety of Pope Francis and devotees.”

The photos caught the attention of netizens, some of whom pointed out that it was a bad joke done at the expense of the police.

Others called for the filing of charges against the two men in adult diapers for impersonating police officers.

But when asked if the PNP would be going after the group behind the social experiment, Mayor said: “We prefer to devote our efforts to serve and protect.”

For his part, National Capital Region Police Office chief Director Carmelo Valmoria minced no words, saying the experimenters had nothing better to do and had deceived the public.