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By Manny B. Marinay, City Editor; Jonathan Vicente, Correspondent
and Cheryl Arcibal, Reporter
Conclusion
NEXT to lack of funds, the most pressing problem
confronting the National Parks Development Committee (NPDC) is the
thousands of vagrants that turn Luneta into one big open-air
“dormitory” at night.
NPDC Director Jaime K. Recio estimates that at
least 3,000 people sleep in the park every night.
Recio says most of the transients are men who
work as dockhands at the nearby piers, some are street vendors and
the rest are istokwas (stowaways).
“We know the situation and we’re trying to
find out who are these people and the cause of the problem,” Recio
says.
A government social worker who asked not to be
named says the presence of informal settlers at Luneta is a symptom
of a bigger problem: the lack of affordable housing.
“There is also no cheap mass transport,” the
social worker says. “These are the reasons these people have to be
near their source of income.”
Mayor Lito Atienza sees things differently. The
problem of vagrancy in Luneta, as far as he is concerned, is purely
a police matter. He blames the park police for failing to enforce
vagrancy rules. “The police is not enforcing, obviously. If the
Luneta police were doing their job, there would have been no problem
of vagrancy.”
Recio chides Atienza for reproaching the police
instead of helping the NPDC deal with the problem. “We can work
hand in hand,” Recio says.
Supt. Manolo Martinez, chief of the Western
Police District Station 5 which helps park police keep law and
order, is more conciliatory. “No one should be blamed for the
rising number of vagrants at Luneta. The root cause of the problem
is poverty,” Martinez says.
Full police powers
If he had his way, Atienza would have fired the
cops who let the number of vagrants at Luneta grow. This is why the
mayor wants to have “direct control and supervision” over the
park police.
“I cannot say I can take full responsibility
for vagrancy because I do not have the power to hire and fire cops.
I am not in control,” Atienza says.
He has proposed returning control of the police
to the mayor. “In New York, Mayor Rudolph Gulliani had control
over the police. He reformed the police department.”
Recio offers another solution: More cops have to
be deployed at night. “There should be heightened police
visibility,” he says.
The NPDC has also tapped the local government
units and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to
stem the flow of vagrants to the park. Together with the DSWD, the
NPDC launched last week “Sagip Kalinga” a program which aims to
help the vagrants return to their “point of origin.”
He explains how the project works: “We round
them up and interview them, where they come from, and other details.
Then we turn them over to the LGU in the place where they come
from.”
The idea is to also lessen the problem for the
city government, Recio says. “The Manila DSWD is overburdened. We
just want to help them out.”
Not working
So far, Sagip Kalinga doesn’t seem to be
working. Recio reveals that those who were sent back to their LGUs
have come back. “You know, most of them don’t want to go home.
We explain to them that what we’re doing is for their own good.”
But Recio knows that the NPDC can only do so
much. He turns philosphical: “There is a bigger picture here. As
long as there is poverty, these people would keep coming back.
They regard Luneta as their home. Who am I to stop them?”
If there is one thing Recio is proud of, it is
the “relatively low” crime rate in Luneta.
Martinez says peace and order at Luneta has
never been a problem despite the many vagrants sheltering there.
He gives credit to the NPDC and the police.
Chief Supt. Nicolas Pasinos Jr., says the Manila
police has had a 100 percent success in maintaining law and order at
the 50-hectare park.
Isolated case
The lone criminal incident in Luneta that
newspapers saw fit to print was the alleged molestation of a
35-year-old woman from Cainta, Rizal.
Police reports said the woman was arrested by
five Station 5 policemen for vagrancy.
In her complaint, the woman said the cops
brought her to a room at Station 5 headquarters where she was asked
to undress. When they found out that she menstruating, they took
turns fondling her.
Chief Insp. Marcelino Pedrozo Jr., head of the
WPD general assignments section, said all five policemen were
suspended indefinitely after being charged with attempted rape and
sexual molestation before the Manila Prosecutor’s Office.
Martinez downplays the case as an “isolated
incident.”
“That’s why Luneta is still one of the
places being visited by families, it’s a child-friendly park,”
he says.
Palakpak Boys busted
Pedrozo also says the WPD has neutralized the
“Palakpak Boys,” a gang of muggers who victimized promenaders.
“They’re called Palakpak Boys because one of
their members would clap whenever they see a potential victim. Then,
they would begin to gang up on the victim,” he explains.
Recio says Luneta’s neglected state should
alarm government officials and concerned agencies. He also
calls on Atienza to do his part in preserving a national landmark.
“Politics should not get in the way. I have a job to do. He has
his. We need to do something before Luneta rots before our eyes.”
The NPDC chief realizes that the Luneta’s
problems are gargantuan. “It’s not only litter. There is
vagrancy which breeds prostitution. Beggars, too. It’s gonna be
a long fight.”
First of three parts | Second
of three parts
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