EDITORIAL – Moonlighting cops

That policemen, in fact a lot of them, take on other jobs ( moonlight ) in addition to their regular work as law enforcers is no secret to anyone. It therefore came as no surprise for Vice Mayor Michael Rama to come forward to discuss the issue.

What was surprising was the vice mayor's virtual endorsement of moonlighting by Cebu City policemen. Surprising because moonlighting, if not exactly illegal, comes very close to being so.

Remember that in the kind of work that policemen do, there is really no such thing as an off-duty cop. Keeping the peace is a 24/7 thing so that, by the nature of the job, policemen are not supposed to take on other jobs.

Okay, so there are many cops who are moonlighting. But they are moonlighting only because, for whatever reason, we choose to look the other way. It is different when a highly-placed official such as a vice mayor would come out to publicly endorse what nobody has dared before.

Worse, Rama not only endorsed moonlighting by cops, he actually formulated a plan by which they might do it. His condition? Moonlighting cops must continue wearing their police uniforms. This is a most ridiculous proposition by the vice mayor.

Some of the most preferred moonlighting jobs for policemen are to act as bodyguards for certain types of people, mostly those who need physical protection, for whatever reason, or those who need to project a certain sense of power or influence.

What a ridiculous situation it would be if, say, a cop moonlights for a known smuggler or drug lord, and he does so in complete police uniform. Remember that this is not entirely impossible, as in fact it has happened so many times, now or before, only without the uniforms.

Instead of saying he does not mind if policemen do moonlight, for as long as they are in complete uniform, Vice Mayor Rama should take back his words. Moonlighting denotes something so very close to being illegal, if it is not already, just as moonshine is the illegal whiskey.