NEW YEAR REVELRY
You can drink, but don't get drunk, police told
First posted 06:33am (Mla time) Dec 30, 2005
By Luige A. del Puerto
Inquirer
YOU CAN DRINK, but you can't get drunk. This was among the police leadership's last-minute reminders to cops, especially those who will be off duty, as the country inches its way toward the New Year.
"Actually, they can drink if they are off duty. But as responsible cops, they should remain sober and be immediately available during emergencies," said Chief Superintendent Leopoldo Bataoil, spokesperson of the Philippine National Police.
"They should not be staggering about," Bataoil added in Filipino.
Ground commanders have been ordered to form task forces to monitor cases of indiscriminate firing. These task forces will be jointly overseen by the police and military to avoid friction in cases where a soldier is caught firing his or her gun.
The 118,000-strong police force has been divided into two work shifts to allow everyone to spend part of the holidays with their families. Group A worked through Christmas while Group B will report for work on New Year's Day.
also advised off-duty policemen not to leave their areas of responsibility, in case the police force is placed on full alert and they would be needed at the police stations.
Cops have to keep their mobile phones and radios on so they could monitor what is happening and could be easily reached by their superiors.
"Not getting drunk, not leaving town, these are actually standard operating procedures," Bataoil said.
"Needless to say, we also want our cops to spend quality time with their families," he said.
Bataoil explained that often, it is the off-duty policeman who is in the best position to respond in an emergency.
"We have produced acts of heroism out of our off-duty cops. Sometimes, it is the off-duty policeman who can respond, who is given the opportunity to react, and that is why he or she must be alert," he said.
Early this week, the police started sealing the muzzles of their service firearms, a practice aimed at discouraging cops from firing their guns to celebrate the New Year. Police officials have warned that those caught violating this directive would be dealt with severely.
The police has also urged private citizens and other armed groups, including rebels, to keep their fingers off the trigger.
It is not the military's practice to seal the muzzles of their firearms on New Year's Eve. Instead there are the usual reminders that soldiers found to have injured or killed anyone through indiscriminate firing would be punished.
Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Generoso Senga has not issued a general order to do so, but Thursday he said he was leaving it up to ground commanders to decide if it was necessary to seal the muzzles of soldiers' firearms with masking tape to discourage indiscriminate firing.