Poke monsters at night

Dave Achondo

I WAS out all night walking around Macasandig. I was hunting Pokemons on Tomas Saco Street on my way to a “PokeStop” near my house.

By the time I reached the two stops to replenish my supplies of Pokeballs, I noticed a lot of minors wondering around Rotunda past midnight doing the usual things like begging and what-nots. I have nothing against that but that last time I checked, the fiesta is over and curfew is back. It wasn’t the first time it happened. It’s been going on even last month.

I came to a conclusion that the curfew isn’t being implemented anymore in my barangay. I see kids slowly hanging around, waiting to strike and hold their hands to your face acting hungry and lonely.

The funny thing about them is they are like ninjas who behave like they have watchers on the lookout from all directions. When the police or tanods come, they are told to hide. As soon as a police patrol car passes, they vanish.

While I was playing Pokemon Go, these kids approached me and called my attention while cellophanes dangled on their faces. By now, you realize its solvent, and they were getting high.

In my quest to become a “poke master,” they asked me for some spare change. I refused not because I didn’t have anything to share but because I knew it wasn’t going to be spent on food.

Later, they moved across the street and yelled at me for being cheap. I kept my composure because it would be a waste of my time to entertain junkies.

Were they done? Nope, they were far from it. They moved in and started harassing women who I assumed were also playing Pokemon Go. These kids impolitely kept asking for money, and they, too, refused. The begging became to intense.

The next thing you know these hooligans started verbally harassing them. I had to do something so I approached them, and like dogs they fled.

How I wish there were cops or tanod patroling our streets properly at night but there was none.

I see Barangay Macasandig’s tanods from time to time but they just patrol together, cramped up in this little Multicab. How do they expect to do anything properly when all of them are in one vehicle and the area to patrol was vast?

They should adapt a two-man team concept in patroling an area, and have budget for communication gadgets to call for back-up.

This isn’t just happening in my barangay. It is also happening in the next one (Nazareth) where tanods all cram themselves in one vehicle doing nothing, but taking a joyride.

I have yet to see a tanod stop and scold a noisy establishment, particularly CDO Bar, which is the most noisiest after midnight with their live bands performing almost nightly as if their to blind to see that the place their establishment was built on is surrounded by houses. People have to sleep you know.

It’s not just me hoping for a change in the barangay level. Everyone does. They want to feel safe and secure but with these poke monsters lurking in the shadows, it makes it hard. The people assigned to protect us are… well… either asleep or just simply late in responding to calls from residents they are supposed to serve.