The number of street crimes—robberies in the streets and jeepneys, bag and cell phone snatching, pickpocket incidents—has decreased considerably in Metro Manila.
Conversely, murders of suspected drug pushers and addicts have increased proportionately.
Now, we have an idea why there are less street crime in the metropolis: Most of the murder victims were involved in street crimes.
Drug addicts commit street crimes to support their vice.
Eliminating street criminals was the secret in Davao City, considered one of the safest in the world.
However, as the number of petty criminals dropped, the number of criminal policemen remained the same.
The 300 or so rogue cops ordered sent to Basilan—only 50 cops reported on the day of the mass send-off—are just a speck in President Digong’s estimate that the bad eggs within the Philippine National Police make up “40 percent” of the force.
In Metro Manila, abusive cops have not mended their ways and still oppress civilians with impunity.
For example, PO1 Anthony Jaira Nepomuceno of the Manila Police District (MPD) shot and wounded Mark Anthony Agito, a pedicab driver, over a petty misunderstanding last month.
Nepomuceno, who was reportedly drunk, suspected Agito of tapping his car.
Shooting a man for tapping your car is the height of arrogance.
Nepomuceno has not been suspended despite facing criminal and administrative charges that my public service program, “Isumbong Mo kay Tulfo,” helped file.
My program, which started airing on Radio Veritas on June 1, 1991, has heard so many complaints about rogue cops.
But the most abusive cops I’ve come across were those at the MPD’s Sta. Mesa precinct.
If I would rate their abusive behavior, I would rate it “nine and a half” on a scale of one to ten, one being the lowest.
Here are the names of the cops if the authorities would be interested: SPO1 Renato Ablaza, PO3 Ruel Aguilar, PO2 Patrick Guevarra and PO2 Ronald Robles.
Their victim was Michael Hingpit, a gay auto mechanic.
Michael was in a taxicab with a male companion on their way to a motel when they were stopped by cops manning a checkpoint at the corner of V. Mapa and Peralta streets.
They took Michael and his boyfriend to the precinct even though they didn’t commit any wrongdoing.
At the station, Michael was threatened with a gun, slapped, struck with a ladle on the head and robbed of his wallet and cell phone.
But the worst indignity Michael suffered was being ordered to perform oral sex on his boyfriend; he refused to do it despite being slapped repeatedly, with a gun pointed at his head.
Not content, one of Michael’s captors extorted coins from his sister who went to the station with a piggybank.