THE MUNICIPALITY OF LILOAN,
Province of Cebu, celebrates the National Peace Consciousness Month every year
as mandated in Proclamation 675 of 2004, by initiating a 4-day Revitalization
Program and Training for the Barangay Peace Action Team (BPAT) on September 20
to 23, 2017. This will be participated by the BPATs of Cabadiangan, Calero,
Catarman, Cotcot, Jubay, Lataban, Mulao, Poblacion, San Roque, San Vicente,
Santa Cruz, Tabla, Tayud and Yati.
This is to instill greater consciousness
and understanding among the citizenry on the comprehensive peace process to
strengthen and sustain institutional and popular support for and participation
in this effort; and to promote a Culture of Peace based on non-violence,
respect for fundamental rights and freedoms, tolerance, understanding and
solidarity. This year’s theme is “Puso para sa Kapayapaan, Magkaisa para sa
Bayan”.
This event attended by BPAT is held
at Dulce & Edwin Catering Services in Tayud, where all topics are to be
discussed, such as: Orientation on Barangay Policing, Police Community
Relations, RA 9262, RA 9208, Improvised Explosive Devices, Barangay Blotter
System, RA 9165 and Relevant DDB Regulations, BADAC, MASAMASID, Report Writing,
First Aid/BLS, Incident Command System, Katarungang Pambarangay and
General Welfare Ordinances.
My participation is anchored on the
invitation of the Municipality of Liloan, through their municipal administrator
and MDRRMO designate, Mr. Hammurabi G. Bugtai. My topics are Batas Pambansa
Bilang 6 (BP No. 6), RA 10591, and Role of a First Responder to the
different BPATs on September 21. The participants filled a large room full and
I have the whole afternoon and their wholehearted attention to myself.
A BPAT member, whom we knew before
as a barangay tanod, is the village peacekeeper. Although, they serve
the public on volunteer basis, they are not law enforcers. They simply do not
have the training and the capacity to carry out the job of a regular public
servant tasked to enforce laws and go after armed criminals. They cannot be
issued government firearms either and so could never defend themselves.
They do not receive salaries. What
they get is a monthly honorarium, which is so minuscule that it could not
support themselves for a week, much less to those who has a family to feed.
They simply do not have the motivation to expose their life to danger in the
service of their community. They are reliable if you need information but you
cannot compel them to fight street wars for you.
I understood the obstacles why a
village peacekeeper would not gamble their lives to suppress crime. I am a
former law enforcer myself and their brethren aided me when things get
complicated. They can be helpful in many ways and it is these kind of help
where you would want the most. But, first, you have to train them. Teach them
the finer ways of peacekeeping and that is where I appreciate the initiative of
the Municipality of Liloan.
During my years with the force, I
developed that street smartness which helped me survive the streets and
crime-prone areas, enforcing laws in the dead of night where chances diminished
by a slim thread. Yes I was armed but it does not make me bullet proof. It is
those instances that would guide my empathy towards the BPAT and they should be
taught urban survival.
My first topic is about the law on
gun possession and ownership. I gave them an overview of PD 1866 and RA 8294 so
they could see and distinguish for themselves how our gun laws evolved before I
would discuss RA 10591. I wrote on the whiteboard, the state agencies tasked to
enforce this new law and the only government office given the authority to
process and issue firearms licenses.
In much the same way, I let them
know the persons who are authorized, by law, to possess, keep, own and use
firearms; the type of firearms that can be legally issued or registered to; and
the different types of licenses that can be issued to any private individual.
Ownership of firearms in the Philippines is not a right but a privilege only
and the state has the right to remove that privilege anytime when it sees need.
On this topic, the BPATs understood
very well the obstacles why they cannot be issued any government firearm, much
less, use it in the performance of their duties. They may own a firearm as a
private citizen though, provided they have complied with the requirements and,
using that as basis, can even be authorized to carry it outside residence. It
becomes complicated only when its use is beyond what it is intended for.
The next topic is BP No. 6. This
law is the amendment of PD 9 and it reduced the penalty in the possession of
bladed, pointed and blunt instruments to imprisonment of less than one year or
fine of less than P2,000. BP No. 6 is used to regulate the carrying of knives
outside residences and in public places unless used as instruments to earn a
livelihood or in pursuit of a lawful activity.
It is important to impart to them
that fishermen, farmers, butchers, foresters, cooks, outdoor guides,
electricians, gardeners, knife collectors, vendors, tailors and any person who
happen to use knives to earn a livelihood are considered lawful calling. Lawful
activities may be cooking, fishing, farming, hiking, bushcraft, mountaineering,
camping, knife shows, film-making, vending, etc. Going in transit to fulfill an
occupation or a lawful activity is considered legal.
Bladed weapons, despite its obvious
appearance as instruments of harm, has its lawful users like the military, law
enforcement officers, houses of royalty, traditional martial artists and the
indigenous people. Its activities include tactical and peacekeeping operations,
cultural ceremonies, martial arts demonstrations, hunting, film-making, etc.
Like bladed tools, it is legal to transit it in the fulfillment of a lawful
calling and activities.
Role of a First Responder is the
last topic. I am retrieving my many years of experience as a law enforcement
officer and share it with the BPATs. What should be the role of a BPAT when
responding to an incident? What should he or she do when arriving first at the
scene? And what thereafter? There are many scenarios and I discussed to them
the best possible way to act in consideration of the limited resources at their
disposal.
First Scenario: Low-Risk Incidents.
These are reports of domestic violence, drunk persons and petty crimes. You can
pacify on the spot the people involved and, if that could not be helped, call
for back-up and let things settle down in your barangay hall. No unnecessary
force needed. It is a social problem which only the community could help solve.
Second Scenario: High-Risk
Incidents. These are reports of suspicious person(s), armed individual(s) or a
crime in progress. You have no firearm and you are not allowed by law to carry
one. There is nothing you can do by yourself there or you will be exposed to
harm. You immediately call for back-up and the police. Describe the person(s)
involved and the place(s) where you last seen the suspect(s).
Third Scenario: Crime Scenes.
This is crime that had already been consummated. What you have there is the
body of the crime and the evidences. Preserve the crime scene by cordoning it
off from bystanders to prevent adulterating and tampering, accidental or not. If you happen to
posses an evidence with you, do the necessary documentation and preserve the
custody chain to as few people as possible.
Fourth Scenario: Medical in Nature.
These are subdivided into three classes: Minor Emergencies, Less-Grave
Emergencies and Grave Emergencies. Minor Emergencies are cuts on non-vital
organs, sprains or a case of malnutrition. Less-Grave Emergencies are
pregnancies, animal bites, dislocations, minor burns or slight
hypothermia.
Grave Emergencies are stab and
gunshot wounds, snakebites, head injuries, drowning, unconscious person, severe
burns, bone fractures, severe bleeding, traumatic amputations, heat stroke or
severe hypothermia. If you are trained in BLS/CPR, you may proceed in reviving
victim or treat victim of injury, wound or shock and then transport it to the
nearest hospital. If you are not, call immediately for back-up and EMS, Fire or
Police.
Fifth Scenario: Disasters and
Calamities: These are bigger incidents caused by man or by nature like
Conflagrations, Severe Floods, Landslides, Capsized Boats or Armed Encounters.
Evacuate immediately all residents to safety, except for capsized boats, and
immediately alarm DRRMO, EMS, Police, Fire and all available civic rescue
units. Initiate early ICS. For sea disasters, utilize any available rescue
crafts and give an alarm.
On September 23, I am invited to be
one of the judges for the showdown among the BPATs based on what they learned
for the past three days from different resource speakers. The venue is the
Liloan National High School. They would be graded according to their
performance on Arrest Procedures and Report Writing. In the final
tabulations, the Poblacion BPAT came out the winner, followed by Calero BPAT
and San Vicente BPAT.
The opportunity to share my
knowledge with the BPATs of Liloan, along with the other resource speakers,
gave them the understanding of their limitations, enhanced their policing
skills and further boosted their knowledge that would result to a better system
in maintaining the peace and order situation in their respective communities.
On my part, it had also tapped knowledge which need to be shared to prevent
waste of lives.
Furthermore, the learning processes
which were tested on the last day exposed their weaknesses and it is
recommended that the Revitalization Program be held yearly, concentrating more
on where they are most wanting by providing them better instructions. It is
also recommended that relevant topics be taught and remove those which are not
necessary anymore.
Finally, this writer salutes the
initiative of the Municipality of Liloan and may their program be replicated by
other local government units. Congratulations then to the Hon. Mayor Ma.
Esperanza Christina G. Codilla-Frasco for her vision, leadership and in
initiating this program. Congratulations also for her council for their unwavering support and
to Mr. Bugtai for implementing this and the invitation.
Document done in LibreOffice 5.3
Writer
Some photos courtesy of Hammurabi Bugtai
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