By Meanne Corvera
Eagle News Service
The policemen who continue to arrest loiterers can be “liable for arbitrary arrest,” Senator Franklin Drilon said on Thursday, June 21.
According to Drilon, “vagrancy,” after all, was “not a crime.”
“I do not know on what basis the arrests are being made. There must be a crime committed,” Drilon said.
President Rodrigo Duterte, who ordered the Philippine National Police to intensify the operations, denied, however, that arrests were being made.
He said the streets were merely being cleared to ensure the safety of the general public.
Senator Grace Poe, for her part, “recognize(d) the objectives of the ‘anti-tambay operations.’”
She said, however, that policemen should undergo an “orientation” for this.
She said the orientation should cover how the alleged loiterers should be treated.
“..Na may konsiderasyon sa mga karapatan nito na malay sa pinakamataas na antas ng pagtitimpi na inaasahan mula sa mga awtoridad,” she said.
