Be alert but tolerant.
Newly-installed police regional director Chief Supt. Mario Espino, a veteran Civil Disturbance Management (CDM) commander, gave this tip to cops on the ground as the Philippine National Police in Central Visayas prepares for the President’s State of the Nation (Sona) address on Monday, July 24.
As police have learned to expect street protests from progressive groups on each Sona, a practice on how to properly disperse an unruly crowd was held at the regional police headquarters, Saturday.
In yesterday’s practice scenario, “militant groups” played by police trainers tried to enter the compound of the high profile government event. Espino noticed that the policemen lacked training and direction to handle protesters properly.
“I noticed, that every time there is an aggression, unang-una walang direksyon yung pinakita ninyo. Ang gusto nyo lang ay makaganti sa mga aggressor (first of all, you have shown no direction. All you want is to get even with the aggressors),” noted Espino.
Espino told policemen to always make sure that the area is well-protected from intruders.
“Our objective is to keep our ground,” he said.
“You must to exercise maximum tolerance without dispersal on first attempt, what you did was to disperse the militants immediately, and that’s wrong.” Espino added.
Espino also told the cops to wait for the order of their platoon commander before conducting any dispersal and to never attempt to harass protestors. Eyes must be kept on the ground so as not to give a sign of provocation.
If arrests have to be made, the arresting officer must be shielded from rallyists by CDM personnel.
“Kasi kasabay ng pag-aresto nyo ay hahabulin talaga kayo ng bato ng mga kasamahan niyan. Baka mabitawan nyo na yung inaresto nyo kasi tinatamaan na kayo ng bato. Dapat may panangga kayo!,” advised Espino.
(Because as you make an arrest, companions of the person you arrest will really throw stones at you. You might lose your grip on the arrested person because you’ve been hit.)
Espino also reminded policemen that there was no need to beat up rallyists. The night stick (batuta) should only be a last resort.
“Hindi kilangan pukpokin ang mga rallyista, dapat shield yung ginagamit. Yung mga batuta is the last resort natin (You don’t have to beat up the rallyists, you should just use your shields. The night stick is the last resort),” he said.
Espino noted that to get media mileage, militant groups always tend to test the troops’ reaction by trying to crash into the protected area.
“You must to be conscious on what your action would be during dispersal,” warned Espino.