Cops begin Palace vigil

Western Police District (WPD) director Chief Superintendent Pedro Bulaong has tapped 117 men to help secure the vicinity of Malacañang against rallyists expected to take to the streets on Labor Day.

The celebration of Labor Day coincides with the second anniversary of the Palace siege staged by supporters of jailed President Joseph Estrada in an attempt to oust President Arroyo and reinstate Estrada.

"We are now on alert. We’ll be watching mainly Arlegui and Solano streets, which lead to the Palace," WPD spokesman Chief Inspector Gerry Agunod.

Chief Inspector Eduardo Cruz was named overall head of the 117-member WPD contingent, which would be working under 12-hour shifts.

Police are intensifying security measures and are not discounting the possibility that terrorist groups may take advantage of the occasion to launch attacks.

800 rookies ready

Some 800 rookie police officers, who have just completed an intensive three-month course in basic law enforcement, will be deployed in the fight against street crimes as well as reinforce the civil disturbance management (CDM) units of the five districts placed on stand-by in anticipation of the mass demonstrations slated for Labor Day.

National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) Deputy Director General Reynaldo Velasco said that the Metro Manila police will be on heightened alert for May 1 and has ordered district directors to step up security measures on rally sites in their respective areas of jurisdiction where various groups are expected to converge and hold protest actions. Included in such convergence zones are: the EDSA Shrine in Ortigas, Mandaluyong City; the Monumento Circle in Caloocan City; the Veterans’s Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City; as well as the Don Chino Roces Bridge, Liwasang Bonifacio, and the US Embassy, all in Manila.

He said that the infusion of the new cops in the force will further boost the effectiveness of the security measures drafted by the NCRPO for the workers’ holiday.

The 800 new cops will graduate today after completing a three-month Public Safety Basic Recruit Course in ceremonies at the Philippine National Training Institute in Camp Vicente Lim, in Calamba, Laguna where the NCRPO chief will lead the rites as guest of honor and speaker.

Velasco said that before giving the new policemen their "baptism of fire," the NCRPO has made sure that they have acquired the skills to take on lawless elements.

"That has always been the primary concern of the NCRPO. We do not want to put our rookies in needless risk and we do not want to sacrifice their training for police visibility," he pointed out.

Aside from educating the 800 new policemen in basic law enforcement, the virtues of politeness and decency have also been instilled on the recruits so they can serve as models of the NCRPO flagship programs Police Officer Magalang and Pulis Malinis.

"Our new cops in Metro Manila will be tough criminals and perfect gentlemen to the citizenry," Velasco said.

Police Officer Magalang is intended to project an appropriate and congenial Metro Manila police force where the NCRPO personnel will begin their transactions with the public with "po", "ho," "sir" and "ma’am" and adopt politeness as a virtue.

Pulis Malinis, on the other hand, is closely tied-up with the NCRPO Magic Eye Program which aims to weed out the few scalawags from the service and ensure that members of the force are not only presentable but have good reputations. – Non Alquitran