NCRPO chief Director Geary Barias: The Jolly Cop
He doesn’t have a big tummy, a long white beard, or a bag full of gifts and he doesn’t go “Ho! Ho! Ho!” all the time, but Metro Manila Police chief Director Geary Barias is now often seen in malls and other public places conducting inspection wearing a red Santa Claus hat topped with a fluffy white pompom.
Barias says he could not fully launch the peace and order program of the National Capital Regional Police Office (NCRPO) for the Christmas season due to a series of challenges that had taken place since he assumed office on Oct. 2.
Lightning may never strike twice in the same place, but in the case of Barias, lightning struck thrice in his turf in the less than three months he has headed the NCRPO.
First was the controversial Glorietta 2 blast where almost a dozen people died and over a hundred others were injured last Oct. 19. Then the Batasan complex bombing that killed a congressman and four other employees of the House of Representatives and wounded more than a dozen others on Nov. 13; and the latest, the Peninsula Manila standoff on Nov. 29.
“I also could not also believe how these three incidents could happen, much more how three major incidents could happen within so short a period of time,” says Barias.
During an interview with STARweek, Barias admits that he never expected a coup d’etat or rebellion during his term as Metro Manila Police chief because he thought it was already passe.
“That coup d’etat or rebellion, whatever they call it, it never came to my mind that I would be a major actor in resolving an issue like that,” says Barias.
Barias led the Philippine National Police (PNP) and other government forces in neutralizing the second attempt of Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV to stage a revolt, but he could not say what was the turning point that prompted Trillanes to realize that his effort to topple the government would not succeed.
“Do you think you have the monopoly of patriotism and love of country? You think again, b—s—!” Barias recalls famously telling Trillanes before the police general led the senator by the belt to a waiting bus that brought him to NCRPO headquarters in Bicutan, Taguig.
As much as possible, Barias points out, “I don’t want to use force, or firearms. When I entered Manila Peninsula along with my aide and security, all unarmed, (I was thinking) I am a policeman doing my job, confident that I will be able to resolve the matter and make an arrest without using force.”
Barias says his conversation with Trillanes was like an upper classman – he belongs to Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class ’75 – to a lower classman (Trillanes is PMA Class ’95). Barias says he does not worry about Trillanes getting back at him for what he did during the Peninsula siege. “I have not done anything against regulations and I have not broken the law in the manner I treated him,” Barias maintains.
Barias also does not worry about dealing with media, especially those whose hands were tied with improvised plastic handcuffs when “invited” to Bicutan along with Trillanes, Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim and their supporters. Over 50 members of media were taken to Bicutan.
Media organizations assail the government, particularly the PNP, for the arrests, which they interpreted as a virtual attack on freedom of the press. Cooler heads have initiated dialogue between the police and media to iron things out and come up with measures to prevent a repeat of what happened at the Peninsula. Police officials maintain that the lives of the media members were in danger as government forces planned to launch an assault if Trillanes refused to yield by the deadline set by Barias. Some reporters have even thanked Barias for giving them ample warning to leave the hotel before government conducted clearing operations.
“I don’t have any problem with the media, on a person-to-person basis, but the problem is an institution against another institution. I know both groups (PNP and media) are in a confrontational mood and the situation was tense so I thought of something to lighten up the mood at that time,” says Barias, who arrived at the venue of the dialogue wearing a Santa Claus hat with “Mamang Pulis” printed on it.
“I think I achieved my goal because as soon as I entered the room everybody was laughing. Somehow nabawasan ang tension,” says Barias. Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro was photographed playfully trying to complement Barias’ Santa hat with a white table napkin as beard.
While nothing concrete was achieved during the dialogue, Barias expresses optimism that the PNP and the media will be able to come up with measures to allow them to do their respective jobs during similar incidents in the future.
This latest encounter with media must have brought back memories of 1985 when he was a police captain tasked to investigate the disappearance of militant priest Fr. Rudy Romano. It was during the investigation that he encountered a female journalist who wanted to have a copy of his report.
She had flown all the way from Manila to Cebu just to obtain a copy of Barias’ investigation report on Romano. Barias says he was holding the folder of the report when the lady journalist tried to grab it from him, resulting in a tussle that landed both of them on the floor.
“During the scuffle, all I could say was ‘Guard! Guard! Guard!’” Barias recalls with a smile. “But I can’t blame her for doing that. Imagine, she traveled all the way from Manila to Cebu but couldn’t get a copy of my report.”
After they both calmed down, Barias instructed the lady reporter to file a petition before the Supreme Court (SC) for a copy of report. A few months after the incident, Barias learned that she did just that when he received a subpoena from the SC in connection with a request for his report.
With a wide grin, Barias clearly recalls his nervousness during his first appearance before the SC justices.
“I was made to swear before the hearing and as I raised my right hand, it was really shaking. It was the first time I set foot in Metro Manila,” recalls Barias, who finished his secondary school in Tuguegarao in Cagayan and then went to Baguio City to study and train at the Philippine Military Academy. “I didn’t even know where the SC was. Eh probinsyano nga.”
Barias says he is used to dealing with extreme cases. He was the police regional director of Western Visayas (Region 6) when a massive oil spill hit the beautiful area of Guimaras in August 2006.
Being the Regional Disaster Coordinating Council (RDCC) head, Barias led the evacuation and other efforts to help the families affected by the oil spill.
From Guimaras, Barias was transferred to the Caraga region, where he stayed for only three months before being appointed chief of Task Force Usig, a unit created to investigate killings of journalists and militants. He was also then concurrent chief of the Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management (DIDM).
Despite all the extreme incidents he has encountered, Barias maintains he is just an ordinary policeman doing his sworn duty to protect and serve the community.
“I am a jolly person, and even as a kid I always smiled, you can see that in my picture when I was one year old. Because I know it will not help me if I scowl, it would only add wrinkles to my face and I might get sick,” he laughs.
Barias reveals that his mood can be gauged through his eyebrows. “Pagnaka-kunot yung kilay ko ibig sabihin ‘di ayos ang mood ko. Pero sandali lang yun, ngingiti uli ako.”
“I am a jolly fellow, I want to be happy all the time. I don’t take myself so seriously,” he adds. “I think I’m just an ordinary policeman doing my job. In fact, I spend time to reflect and ask myself, would these things change me? I don’t think it would.”
A few days after the Peninsula incident, Barias relates that he and his aide, both in civilian clothes, were on their way back to Bicutan when they were caught up in a traffic jam. He decided to get out of the vehicle to stretch his legs and buy boiled corn.
“I was eating the corn (near my vehicle), when I realized that people were staring at me. Sabi nila, ‘You were the one who arrested Trillanes.’
Sabi ko sa kanila hindi ako, kapatid ko lang yun,” shares Barias, who admits that he can no longer walk around unrecognized.
Reporters, particularly those covering Camp Crame, like Gen. Barias because he always answers his phone, is always available and grants interviews, and always cracks joke during press conferences.
Barias said his father named him after Geary street in San Francsico, where the elder Barias was one of the 20 UP students given scholarships in the United States. “I heard Geary was a family name of a general in the US. I don’t know what was so special about that street that my father chose it (as my name). Kaya lang ayaw nya sabihin sa akin bakit kasi my mother is still alive,” says Barias with a hearty laugh.
Barias says most people pronounce his name as “Gerry” when it is supposed to be “Geer-y” – as in American actor Richard Gere-y.
“I was amused when President Arroyo started calling me Richard Gere-y,” says Barias, again laughing.
“But I first heard that from Vice President Noli de Castro.”
Barias admits he believes in feng shui, the ancient Chinese practice of studying and following the natural currents of the Earth to ensure proper alignment with them so that energy is not disrupted.
“There’s nothing wrong (with feng shui) anyway. But I pray more. I believe more in prayers. I drop by at the Camp Crame chapel from time to time and pray for two to three minutes,” says Barias, adding, “I pray more to Virgin Mary, Mother of Perpetual Help. There were times in my life that I felt so low, I pray to Her. I still practice going to Novena Wednesday in Baclaran, whenever I have time, just to say thank you and ask for continuous guidance.”
Just like other police and military officers assigned outside Metro Manila, Barias admits he seldom gets to spend time with his wife and four children.
“But I make it a point to spend quality time with family,” says Barias, who brought his youngest daughter to work to bridge the gap between them. He recalls that when his daughter was about a year old, she used to kiss and hug him all the time. “But a few months later when I visited them in our house after about three months, she didn’t want to approach me. Ayaw na nyang lumapit kasi pulis ako – yun ang pinaka masakit. I thought, I was winning the hearts and minds of the people in my area but I was losing the heart of my own daughter. So I decided to bring her to work with me and my wife readily approved it.”
Barias calls his youngest daughter “Manubo,” Visayan for tribe member because she stayed in Agusan del Sur. He also notes that when his family was in Agusan, he allowed the kids to sell dried fish at the bus terminals.
“I want to let them feel the way ordinary people feel. They have to have their own lives, to struggle,” Barias stresses. “They should really compete in life, not all the time can they have me and their mother. If something happens to me or to my wife, who knows what will happen to them.”
Two of his children are now working in hospitals. His third child is studying in China, while the youngest is in school in Manila.
“I don’t worry about my security and my family,” Barias says, adding with confidence, “I’ve been fair.”
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