Res Gestae
Civilians must not wear police uniform
Many want to look like cops, at least by the clothes they wear.
At the onset, nothing is wrong about it. It is like wearing superman attire for men or, for ladies, having dressed like Cinderella's.
But, it must not be the case in the recent incident where robbers clad in Special Weapon and Tactics (SWAT) attire and carrying high-powered firearms barged into St. Scholastica's College in Malate, Manila and divested the school guards with their guns and communications equipment.
Emphasis must be given to SWAT ATTIRE and HIGH-POWERED FIREARMS.
It was not the first instance, however, that a crime was committed by suspects who disguised as police officers. This only shows that the PNP and our legislators have not learned their lessons well from those gruesome incidents. Selling of second-hand army/police uniforms in 'ukay-ukay' and unregulated trade of police paraphernalia are rampant everywhere, even right outside the gates of Camp Crame, Quezon City. And, in Iloilo City, one can see a string of these stalls at Central Market.
Maybe there is no legal basis yet to confiscate police uniforms being sold without authority. Or, another reason could be that proprietors of these stores have connections with PNP top brasses, making it not only difficult but impossible to stop the trade.
Regardless the amount of reasons, nay alibi, we can think of, the fact remains that we need drastic measures to stop any crime to be committed by suspects in police uniform. And I suggest to our law makers to consider the wearing of these uniforms a criminal act.
But more than considering the prohibition of the wearing of police uniform, our authorities must also consider how these criminals have acquired high-powered guns.
According to the records of National Capital Region Police Regional Office (NCRPO), a string of 16 robberies occurred in the metropolis from December 2007 to October of this year where the suspects were in cop uniform. And, in its initial profiling, at least three robbery gangs with more or less 30 members are active in the area. These robbery gangs "wear bullet-proof and use high-powered firearms, among them M-203 grenade launchers and M-16 and M-14 rifles, in their hits."
It is mind-boggling how these criminals get possession of these firearms. But in countries, like ours, where almost nothing is impossible, having criminals with firearms more powerful than our law enforcers is no wonder.
(Comments to rogatepnp@yahoo.com or 09193161190.)