A policeman is not a nanny

Herbie Gomez .

IT would be best for the police in Cagayan de Oro to pause and carefully go over City Ordinance 5133-95 which they used as basis in arresting nearly 100 people during the first few hours of the implementation of the so-called “anti-tambay” campaign from late Thursday up to the wee hours of Friday.

The 1995 ordinance prohibits the “drinking of alcoholic liquor and other intoxicating beverages in all public plazas, parks, roads, sidewalks and alleys of the city.” Again, for the purpose of emphasis, the ordinance made binge drinking illegal in specific areas: parks, roads, sidewalks and alleys of the city and its barangays. The only time this is allowed is during special occasions like fiesta time but with the approval of the mayor or the barangay chairperson.

So, what is the basis of arresting people drinking beer at the outdoor extension of a convenience store within the premises of a privately owned gas station? The place is not a public plaza, park, road, sidewalk or alley built by the government.

I have also taken note of arrests made outside a 7-Eleven convenience store in Carmen. Were the tables placed outdoors on public property such as a sidewalk constructed by the government for pedestrians? Or were the tables within the confines of a private property?

It’s disturbing that the city’s police director, Senior Supt. Nelson Aganon, thinks that the police is doing everyone a favor by arresting potential or future criminals with sinister plans. His exact words in a recorded interview: “Ang ating kampanya hindi naman against sa lahat ng tambay, against lamang ito sa mga tambay na may balak gumawa ng hindi maganda…” So, we arrest people now even before they could attempt or commit a crime, and even before they could act on their bad idea. But since when did thought crime become punishable in this country?

Aganon reminds me of Steven Spielberg’s 2002 science fiction film Minority Report about law enforcers in the year 2054 when the police have a specialized unit called Pre-Crime that arrests citizens even before they could even think of committing crime. This is done based on foreknowledge provided by a computer powered by three psychics. Does Aganon see how ridiculous his idea is now?

Another disturbing pronouncement came from Supt. Mardy Hortillosa, the spokesman of the Cagayan de Oro City Police Office. Hortillosa said the police would request the “tambay,” who were found to have violated no law, to simply go home. But if they don’t heed the “hangyo” (request), Hortillosa said the law-abiding “tambay” can be arrested for disobedience to persons in authority. But was the “hangyo” a command? Since when did a mere “request” or “advice” been synonymous with the word “order”?

I think the police is misinterpreting President Duterte’s “anti-tambay” pronouncements owing to the absence of a clear definition of the word “tambay.” In its eagerness to please King Rody, the National Police is overdoing things.

Let every police officer be clear on this: You are a law enforcer and a peacekeeper, and not a nanny. And you don’t tell peace-loving and law-abiding citizens when to go home and sleep. Neither can you tell grownups what to wear and what not to wear. Pastilan.