MANILA, Philippines, July 30 (UPI) -- In downtown Manila, Filipinos take it in their stride and barely bat an eyelid when they are asked to open their bags. Shopping centers, train stations, public offices, just about everywhere, one will be asked to open bags and handbags for inspection, albeit often a cursory one.
Armed guards are also very much in evidence in the financial districts and request photo identification to access any business offices. While these heightened security measures may be reassuring and an indication that the government is taking crime seriously, it also indicates a certain malaise for the state of local security.
Indeed, despite some statistical improvements for crime solving by the Philippines National Police, the state of law and order in the country remains a major concern for the population, the new PNP chief Gen. Hermognese Ebdane conceded Tuesday.
Drugs and terrorism threaten daily security while kidnappings for ransom has almost become a cottage industry. Between January and June this year, 45 people were kidnapped, including six foreigners. This was in fact an improvement over the same period last year, as kidnapping was down 33 percent.
Meanwhile, the image of the 110,000-strong police force has also been tarnished, as corruption is said to be rampant.
In a recent survey of local business executives by the Makati Business Club, the PNP was ranked 32 out of 33 in a ranking of government agencies' performance. Executives indicated that peace and order, politicking, graft and corruption, unemployment/poverty and power rates were their top key concerns for the government to resolve within a year.
In her state of the nation address to Congress earlier this month, President Gloria Macapagual-Arroyo vowed to smash crime and corruption: "I am determined to build a strong republic by breaking the back of terrorism and criminality," she said.
In a speech to the Makati Business Club, Ebdane, who was appointed as the new chief of the police force on July 4, said, "The PNB is committed to get the job done, to enforce the law, to hunt down criminals and keep our neighborhood safe and secure."
He pointed to the accomplishments of the force since he took over. A lead unit against kidnapper groups has been created, and 24 kidnappers and three terrorists arrested. About 200 million pesos worth of illegal drugs have been seized, while 160 million pesos worth of DVDs and VCDs were confiscated. A total of 4,109 illegal firearms were also confiscated in the first six months of the year, he noted.
But despite a reported 88.5 percent rate for solving crime in the first six months of this year, public perception on peace and order is not positive, Ebdane acknowledged. "Several surveys show that the state of peace and order needs working on. This despite the positive developments that reflect how much has been done to fight crime," he said.
Ebdane outlined a new plan by the police force to set innovative measures of performance for the force. "We will develop a new standard of performance evaluation, value for money," he said.
There should also be a better record in the arrest of criminals, he added.
