EDITORIAL - Tourism cops

Applicants must be at least 1.72 meters in height, with an athletic build, from 25 to 45 years old, and proficient in English or other foreign languages. That’s not a recruitment ad for the business process outsourcing industry but for the tourism police. The Department of Tourism signed a memorandum of agreement yesterday with the Philippine National Police to launch TOPCOP, or the Tourist-Oriented Police for Community Order and Protection.

TOPCOP members will be fielded in areas frequented by tourists. The creation of the special unit is among several measures meant to reassure tourists of their safety in this country, particularly after the hostage fiasco in Manila’s Rizal Park on Aug. 23. That bloody incident, unfortunately, was carried out by a dismissed Manila police officer, and the Manila police SWAT team’s bungled response as the world watched further eroded the image of the Philippine police. The public can only hope that the new tourism cops will perform efficiently enough to erase that image of police incompetence created by the hostage incident.

Fielding a special team of cops to handle safety concerns of foreign tourists should be complemented by an intensified effort to improve law enforcement in general. There should be a sustained campaign against pickpockets and snatchers especially during the holiday season when crimes against property traditionally increase. The Department of Tourism and the PNP should coordinate with hotel operators to keep their premises safe from thieves. The so-called Bundol Gang of robbers operating along C-5 from the NAIA must be neutralized.

Merely improving police visibility will go a long way in improving peace and order, but fielding competent law enforcers will be even better. The DOT and PNP must ensure that those who become part of TOPCOP will get proper training in carrying out their principal mandate, which is to make the country’s guests safe from harm. At the same time, the government must work to improve overall peace and order. If Filipinos feel safe in their own country, so will foreign visitors.