‘Rody’ nabs 58 in Makati

After three hours of patrolling the streets, the police rounded up 58 people as Makati City got its first taste of “‘Oplan Rody,” a campaign spurred by the anticrime pronouncements of incoming President Rodrigo Duterte.

Senior Supt. Ernesto Barlam, the city’s police chief, said Barangay Pembo, where all the arrests were made, was the first on a list of villages to be scoured by his men in enforcing the curfew and related local ordinances in line with Rody, which also stands for “Rid the Streets of Drinkers and Youths.”

Of those arrested, 20 were minors who violated the 10 p.m.-to-4 a.m. curfew, 30 individuals were booked for drinking in public spaces, and eight others for smoking in prohibited areas.

PO2 Felixberto Perez said they were all brought to the police station but the minors were immediately released to their parents.

Perez explained that the ordinances were already in place years ago, but he admitted that efforts to implement them had intensified because of Duterte, the tough-talking Davao City mayor who won the presidency by a landslide mainly on an anticrime agenda.

“It looks this will be done more frequently and many more will be caught,” Perez added.

The police in other cities in Metro Manila had started enforcing such ordinances under Oplan Rody since last week. Carizza Ibañez