ADVOCACY GROUP Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Tuesday called on the police to end its “anti-loitering” crackdown, which it said evoked “memories of arbitrary police targeting of the urban poor during the 1972-1981 martial law period under the late President Ferdinand (E.) Marcos.”
“The Philippine National Police are conducting a ‘crime prevention’ campaign that essentially jails low-income Filipinos for being in public,” Deputy Asia Director Phelim Kine of the New York City-based HRW, said in a statement released on June 26.
“The great majority of those arrested are known as ‘tambays,’ shirtless men who congregate on city streets in poorer neighborhoods, often drinking alcohol in public,” Mr. Kine noted.
He also said that, “There are indications that the police enforcement of the ‘anti-loitering’ campaign is arbitrarily enraging Filipinos who are lawfully on the streets at night” and “[t]ypically, they are not brought before a judge, but detained for a period and then released, though sometimes criminal charges are brought.”
“The Philippine National Police are again demonstrating their preference for wielding fear, intimidation, and arbitrary arrest to target vulnerable communities rather than respect for the rule of law,” he said.
HOUSE PROBE
Meanwhile, the Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives has filed a resolution calling for the urgent probe on the death of Genesis “Tisoy” Argoncillo while in police custody following his arrest under the anti-loitering operation.
House Resolution 1971, dated June 26, also proposes to conduct an inquiry on President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s verbal order that prompted the campaign.
“A congressional inquiry is necessary to probe the arrest, detention and killing of ‘Tisoy’ as well as the ‘Anti-Tambay’ verbal order and police operations,” the solons said in the resolution.
Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani T. Zarate said he hopes that the death of Mr. Argoncillo would be the beginning of serving justice for the victims of not only the anti-loitering campaign, but also of the drug war.
“Ang pangalan ni Tisoy ay Genesis Argoncillo, ang genesis ibig sabihin beginning o simula. So ito sana ang simula, sana ang sakripisyo ng buhay ni Tisoy ay simula ng pagbibigay ng hustisya sa lahat ng mga biktima ng walang katuturang pagpatay sa ilalim ng administrasyong ito (Tisoy’s name is Genesis, which means the beginning. So, we hope this would be the start, the life of Tisoy could be the start of serving justice to all the victims of senseless killings under this administration),” Mr. Zarate told reporters in an interview on Tuesday.
The congressmen on Monday filed a separate resolution seeking investigation on the PNP’s operation that led to the arrest of about 7,291 alleged vagrants.
A similar resolution for a Senate inquiry has also been filed. — Dane Angelo M. Enerio and Charmaine A. Tadalan

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