Public safety

A visiting German government official told me that the shakedown of a German tourist in Makati last month was played up by their press.

Crime is a problem in most big cities. A Filipino TV cameraman lost his network’s camera at the lobby of a hotel in Manhattan. One of our editors lost his wallet to pickpockets while strolling in Paris’ Montmartre. In South Africa’s picturesque Cape Town, visitors are given cards advising them to avoid certain crime-prone areas and to guard their belongings wherever they go.

But the case of German tourist Daniel Ludwig was unusual because his tormentors were five Makati policemen, all in uniform, accompanied by a civilian. Equally pathetic was the avowed motive for the crime: Ludwig was taken to the Power Plant Mall at past noon and made to purchase laptops until his credit card was maxed out because, he was told, the cops needed the computers for police work. Ludwig’s bill: P222,149.

The five cops are supposed to be undergoing summary dismissal proceedings. Let’s hope the proceedings aren’t dropped as soon as the publicity dies down, because those cops could be back on the streets quicker than you can say iPad and they can shake down more tourists.

On Jan. 30, a day after Ludwig’s ordeal, another German tourist, this time a woman, was victimized apparently by the Ativan gang, or a group with a similar modus operandi. While browsing in a bookstore at a shopping mall in Malate, the 50-year-old tourist was befriended by two Filipino women who called themselves Emma and Veronica. The German probably thought she was seeing the renowned Pinoy friendliness and hospitality. In the course of their exchange, the three agreed to go on a tour of Northern Luzon.

The next day, as they boarded a bus in Pasay, two of the suspects’ female friends, called Joy and Hanna, joined them. They parted ways four days later upon arrival in Baguio, with the four Filipinas saying they would check into a cheaper hotel. Throughout the tour the German felt dizzy and drained, and on Feb. 4 she was hospitalized in Baguio.

Two days later she learned that her bank and credit cards had been used 28 times from Feb. 1 to 3, without her knowledge, with P280,000 plus transaction fees withdrawn from ATMs in the branches of two major banks in Alaminos. On Feb. 6, now traveling alone, she reported the case to police in Sagada, who told her they did not have the competence to deal with the crime.

These were cases that were reported to the police or to the German embassy. How many other cases have gone unreported, especially if the suspects were uniformed cops?

The Philippine National Police (PNP) still has to recover from the institutional damage inflicted by Rolando Mendoza, a Manila policeman dismissed for extortion, after he hijacked a bus and held hostage tourists from Hong Kong and their local guides.

That was in August last year. The nation’s attention has since moved on to military corruption, a suicide and other gruesome stories. But the people of Hong Kong have not forgotten the hostage incident; their travel ban to the Philippines remains in place.

Tourism Secretary Bertie Lim downplayed the impact of the hostage fiasco on visitor arrivals except from Hong Kong, and rightly so. It was a rare case, and seeing Mendoza’s violent fate, it’s not likely to inspire copycat hostage incidents.

What could turn off potential visitors are ordinary crimes targeting tourists.

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Even adventurous travelers who avoid overdeveloped tourist destinations have certain minimum expectations about places that they visit. At the end of a long day, they want a clean place to rest unmolested, and if they follow sensible precautionary measures, they want themselves and their belongings to be safe from harm.

Bertie Lim had the right idea when he launched the tourism police or TOPCOP project together with the PNP late last year. The project aims to improve police response to tourists’ complaints, with TOPCOP units operating around the clock.

But the project is still in its pilot stage, and perhaps it took time for its objectives to filter down to those five Makati cops. It could take a year before the project reaches Sagada. The sad experience of the two Germans should show Bertie what he’s up against, but I’m sure he already knows the problems.

It may be cold comfort to the Germans, but Filipinos also feel that law enforcement can use a great deal of improvement.

In the dangerous streets of Metro Manila, a mobile phone can be snatched right out of your hand, a necklace seized from your neck and earrings torn out of your earlobes while you are walking or seated in a jeepney. People have been killed for refusing to hand over cell phones.

There are burglars and carjackers to worry about. Chef Gaita Fores has not recovered her Land Cruiser, which was taken at gunpoint in Makati. SUVs are stolen right inside residential garages.

Luxury vehicles aren’t the only targets. Our paper’s artist had to park his car, an 11-year-old Honda City, outside his home in Pasay City when a neighbor’s visitor took his allotted parking space inside the residential compound.

Upon waking up the next morning, he discovered that the car was gone. This was in September last year. He was told by the Highway Patrol Group that if the car was not found in three months, it was unlikely to be recovered. The car has not been found.

Cars are not the only items stolen from homes. Aluminum ladders are favorites, because there are fences buying the metal. Even jeans and t-shirts are stolen from clotheslines. At one point, the police had to issue a warning about a gang stealing female Chihuahuas.

If the police can keep citizens safe, tourist protection falls into place. On both counts, the PNP is wanting.

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P-NOY’S TOY: According to the foreign ministry of Germany, where one of P-Noy’s favorite toys is made, the “e” in Porsche is a short one, pronounced as in hello or porsyento, and not like an “a” as in “pro-poor siya.”