AFTER a week of bad press, the men of the QCPD La Loma station carry on. LYN RILLON
From outside, the Quezon City Police District鈥檚 La Loma station looks orderly, its operations smooth and uneventful, days after some of its members were linked to the Sept. 1 Edsa robbery-abduction.
But beyond this 鈥渘ormal鈥� facade, the crime and the ensuing scandal have apparently taken a toll on the other officers, the ones who must carry on and deal with an increasingly cynical public.
They have since taken questions from friends and fellow policemen鈥擨s it true? What really happened?鈥� who wanted more inside info on the case in which 10 lawmen, seven of them from La Loma, are accused of taking P2 million from two men whose vehicle they blocked on the highway in broad daylight.
The most unsettling questions, though, have come from their own family members: 鈥淒addy, are you with the La Loma police?鈥� The innocent query came from the small child of one officer, who didn鈥檛 want his name revealed when he agreed to talk to the Inquirer on Saturday.
鈥淵es, but that鈥檚 okay, there鈥檚 really no problem,鈥� the officer recalled telling his kid in reply. After that uneasy moment, he said, he later learned that some of his child鈥檚 playmates had teased him about his father鈥檚 line of work.
鈥淢asakit (It鈥檚 painful),鈥� PO3 Noel Bautista said of being asked by friends and neighbors about what he knew of the Edsa 鈥渉ulidap鈥� incident. 鈥淥f course, it鈥檚 a shame because it鈥檚 all over the news on TV.鈥�
Bautista, who has a daughter currently taking up criminology, said he had tried to make light of the situation at home by jokingly advising her not to join the Philippine National Police and sign up instead with the Bureau of Fire Protection or the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology.
Yet his daughter remained firm that she would join the PNP, assuring him that 鈥渢his too shall pass, Pa.鈥�
Bautista, who has been assigned to the La Loma station since 1997, said that if the allegations against his colleagues were true, 鈥渢hen they have to answer for that.鈥� What they did was a 鈥減ersonal na lakad鈥� or an act separate from what the police force stands for, he added.
A senior officer, who also declined to be named, said that since the Sept. 1 incident landed the La Loma police in the news, the station鈥檚 hotline had received several angry or sarcastic callers.
One caller, for example, asked: 鈥淲hy are you still in the service?!鈥� This was after the officer who picked up the phone opened the conversation with a polite greeting and identified himself to the other person on the line.
Another caller said: 鈥淵ou know, sir, I used to be scared of drug addicts. But now I鈥檓 more scared of cops from La Loma.鈥�
And more bile from another caller: 鈥淪o that鈥檚 how you work! So that鈥檚 why you people are arrogant!鈥�
Sometimes, the station personnel didn鈥檛 need to hear any of the snide remarks to know that they were being mocked. On the day the Inquirer was there, one jeep slowed down as it went past the station on Mayon Street, its curious occupants pointing at the place before driving on.
鈥淎yan o! (There it goes),鈥� sighed one officer who spotted the vehicle.
For Chief Insp. Benjamin Gonzales Gabriel Jr., who has been assigned to La Loma since last year, life at the station goes on. 鈥淲e鈥檙e back to normal. Our work continues.鈥�
His friends and relatives initially thought that he, too, was involved in the Edsa hulidap case, which got them worried. 鈥淚 had to assure them that I鈥檓 still reporting for duty and I don鈥檛 get myself involved in those things. But I also explained that I could not pass judgment on those being accused since I wasn鈥檛 there to witness what happened. The investigation is still going on and it will be up to the courts.鈥�
Gabriel is a classmate of Chief Insp. Joseph de Vera, the station鈥檚 deputy commander who was the first to be arrested for the crime. 鈥淚n our many years working together, I find him to be hardworking and dedicated. We鈥檝e had a lot of accomplishments.鈥�
鈥淚 had no knowledge of his involvement (in criminal activities). But if they really did it, they should face the consequences. That鈥檚 the law,鈥� Gabriel said.
Supt. Dionisio Bartolome, the newly appointed station commander, said his immediate assignment was to 鈥渘ormalize the operations and look into the morale of people.鈥�
鈥淪ome of them are really dismayed. But in police work, what happened is no reason for you to lose heart and stop performing your duties. If your superiors are under fire, it doesn鈥檛 mean you won鈥檛 work anymore because of low morale.鈥�
Addressing critics, he said: 鈥淥ut of the 139 policemen under our station, only five percent were tagged (in the Edsa robbery-abduction). So let鈥檚 not generalize.鈥�
On an encouraging note, one of Bartolome鈥檚 former superiors recently sent him a message saying: 鈥淵ou clean up La Loma and then you invite me for lechon (roast pig, the delicacy the district is famous for).鈥�