Thursday, December 06, 2007 So: The sun makes cops strong By Michelle P. So Caught in the Net
AM I so behind technology that I didn’t know cell phones could be edible? Do they come in mint flavor? And since when was it safe to stare at the burning sun for more than 30 seconds? Does rolling in a hot concrete pavement a true gauge of policeman-ness?
At the oath-taking of 268 police recruits last Monday at PRO 7’s HQ, the trainers did away with the usual song and dance numbers. The police executives have learned their lessons from previous oath-taking ceremonies that singing and dancing don’t produce sharpshooters and sensible crime investigators among the new members of the Central Visayas police force.
These days, mass dancing is better left to the guys at the provincial jail.
And so it was that the police recruits were made to do, in police parlance, “reception” exercises that test their determination to become the keepers of peace in the community.
The exercises surprised not only the recruits but also their families who attended their oath-taking rites. They didn’t expect a morning merienda but neither did they expect at their reception these orders:
Staring, without eye shades, at the 8 a.m. sun pointing at an invisible Superman or Silver Surfer; inversely hugging a fellow newbie (that is, one’s booted legs cradle the other’s face) and rolling like shackled logs in the quadrangle; doing push-ups with their fists (this really hurts the knuckles and is a good training for boxing crime suspects); walking like ducks while having their bags dangle from their mouths; and other physical actions that fitted in 30 minutes of “reception” exercises.
One police recruit, after being found to have tucked a cell phone in his pocket, was ordered to chew on the gadget. The phone must have rung to Manny Pacquiao’s “Para Sa Iyo Ang Laban Na To” and the recruiting officer didn’t want to be reminded of his betting loss in the Pacquiao-Barrera rematch. The instruction was: no cell phones during training; no text, no call but puede pasaload. The recruit didn’t find the Nokia 8210 to his taste and regretted not buying an N80.
Not one of the 235 men and 33 women recruits wanted to quit, not even when the spit of their recruiting officers was washing their grimy faces, and not for P5,000 cash. The amount was peanuts. It couldn’t even buy a year’s supply of sun block lotion, sunburn creams and moisturizers.
“We don’t want them to end up in karaoke bars or as dance instructors. We want them to end up as strong policemen. We don’t want them to take things lightly. We want them to value their job.” So said Senior Supt. Vicente Loot, Regional Personnel and Human Resources Development Division chief.
Aren’t karaoke bars a favorite hang-out of policemen? How many karaoke brawls involve drunken policemen who bring down lizards, spiders, roofs and even Superman by their singing? And what’s wrong with being dance instructors? Oh, I see. Many dance instructors are same-sex guys. The police force is homophobic.
Strong policemen? Where lies the strength of the Philippine police or Cebu police for that matter? Not in catching the real criminals. The exercises make them physically strong—if they don’t get maimed for life—but not necessarily psychologically and mentally developed.
The recruits better get used to physical abuse. It’s a lot worse in boot camp.
No wonder many policemen turn out screwed in real life because they didn’t take their training lightly.
