Hundreds of overweight policemen scaled Mt. Pinatubo yesterday in an attempt to beat a deadline to get rid of their protruding bellies.
Hundreds of others, however, failed to complete the dangerous trek to Pinatubo's peak, part of a physical fitness campaign launched last month by Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Panfilo Lacson to trim policemen with bulging stomachs - long a symbol of the country's notoriously corrupt police force.
Lacson said policemen with waists greater than 34 inches (86 centimeters) must exercise for six months and face dismissal if they don't slim down. The waists of policewomen must measure no more than 29 inches (73 centimeters).
"If you're physically fit, it follows that you can do the job of law enforcement, that you can run after criminals," said Chief Superintendent Roberto Calinisan, Central Luzon police director.
Of the 7,000 policemen under his command, 2,000 failed the measurement test, he said.
About 600 policemen, including about 70 women, attempted yesterday's treacherous six-hour climb up the 4,740-foot volcano.
Army trucks ferrying the policemen to the foot of the volcano bore banners reading, "Fat belly, flab. Mount Pinatubo will remove."
About half of the 600 made it to the top, Calinisan said, although a count at the peak revealed only 62.
Those who failed must try again next month, he said.
Lacson, who was appointed PNP chief last November, has vowed to cleanse the police of corruption and improve its image.
He said he would not mind if the 117,000-member PNP is reduced in half to rid it of "hoodlums in uniform."
Since last month, potbellied policemen, including top officers, have been required to join regular aerobics classes. Some policemen, desperate to reach the required belly size, have tried diet pills or girdles, while others are reportedly contemplating liposuction.
Last week, a police officer died of heart attack while exercising at a police station in an attempt to beat the deadline.
"I have six children to support, so I hope I won't be fired," said 50-year-old policeman Angel Alicante, dressed in a blue sweat shirt and shorts for the Pinatubo climb, and carrying a golf club as a cane because of arthritis in one knee.
Alicante said he has succeeded in trimming his 46-inch stomach to 43 inches since last month, but doubts he can meet the deadline.
"I've asked a lot of doctors and they told me that six months are not enough. You can try and try, but you'll just end up weak," he said.
Alicante said he tried diet pills, but stopped after friends warned him of their side-effects. Now he has cut down his daily rice intake to just one cup.
A big stomach, he concedes, interferes with his job.
"I have problems tying my shoes," he said with a laugh.
Pinatubo, about 90 kilometers north of Manila, exploded in June 1991 in one of the 20th century's most violent volcanic eruptions, dumping billions of tons of volcanic debris over three provinces north of Manila, erasing entire communities from the map and altering the world's climate.