Apec duty improves antiriot cops’ lot

With international VIPs in town, even antiriot policemen must look well-scrubbed and well-fed.

Hot meals, chocolate bars, portable showers, antiflu vaccines—these are part of the “logistical support” extended by the Philippine National Police  to personnel assigned to safeguard the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit.

The improvements stemmed largely from an embarrassing episode in the PNP earlier this year, when some antiriot policemen deployed in the streets for the visit of Pope Francis in January ended up receiving spoiled food rations.

PNP chief Director  General Ricardo Marquez said the Apec deployments represented a change of mind-set.

“Before, it was every man for himself. Commanders didn’t care how you ate, slept, bathed. Now we improve these little things so they accomplish their mission better,” Marquez said in a briefing on Wednesday. “When you improve the conditions of your policemen on the field with little things like these, the tendency is that they level up their performance. Their morale goes up and they perform better.”

The PNP tapped its engineering unit to set up portable showers and toilets where the policemen are deployed. They were also given vitamins, medical and hygiene kits, sleeping mats and flu shots— things previously not enjoyed by officers on crowd-control duty.

For “operational efficiency,” the policemen are now served freshly cooked food, instead of packed meals which easily spoil in the heat, Marquez said. To stave off hunger pangs while waiting for the hot meals, they are given chocolate bars.

In the past, these details were hardly given attention because of the “every-man-for-himself attitude,” Marquez said. “During the papal visit, we proved that we can secure an event like that, but… there were some men who were not well taken care of.

“By providing these basic things, they level up. The result is that we have a well-performing [force] which benefits the PNP in the long term,” he added.