I.

Introduction and Problem Statement

The issue facing the country is the on-going challenge to promote peace and order in the

streets and to implement existing local ordinances. The policy analysis will review the policy

issues at stake, the alternatives available and why the issue is important. The analysis will also

examine the policy instruments applied, the institutional and political conditions which affected

the adoption of the policy instruments, and the impacts the policy have had to date.

. Recognizing the significance of the problem, the President developed a directive to

address the issue of the growing number of street crimes ,juvenile crimes and at the same time

quality of life in the country. The policy in partnership with the Philippine National Police (PNP)

grants men in uniform to accost and apprehend street loiterers or “tambays” including those

minors who are disobeying local curfew rules.

This policy of the current administration continues to receive a lot negative feedbacks

right from the senate, middleclass people ,students and as well as the involved persons, who are

still not able to embrace and understand the importance of the policy in the point of view of the

Duterte Administration.

II. Analysis of Policy

The Philippines is a nation of tambays, the idea of tambay in the Philippines is a national,

collective experience. Almost all Filipinos, regardless of social background, had their tambay

moments. Some became tambays due to lack of employment opportunities. They became

members of the country’s army of surplus labor, occasionally finding income from odd and

irregular jobs.
 These “tambays” are the result of the lack of access to education. These are the

young tambays we call the out-of-school youth, who were forced out of the school system due to

the state’s failure to provide affordable and quality education. They, too, become members of the

surplus labor, a sub-categorization of the working class.

On the other hand, there are those who hang out, not because they were compelled by

economic reasons, but because they enjoy the spirit of camaraderie and community that goes

with hanging out. These are the full-time students, employees, and mothers who cool their heels

after a stressful and busy day. The culture of hanging out is an opportunity for people to share

their lives and make special moments out of ordinary days..

Thus, while it can be argued that the tambay phenomenon is rooted in economic inequality

and the lack of equal opportunity, it is also deeply cultural. It is part of the Filipinos’ way of life.

Even if our country manages to attain full employment and free universal education, the culture

of tambay is, every pun intended, here to stay.

President Rodrigo Duterte’s order to arrest all bystanders as part of his anti-crime campaign

is deemed pathetically short-sighted and despotic. His order dismisses the economic roots of

the tambay culture. It is also considered anti-Filipino as it goes against the very grain of Filipino

culture. But, other than that there are still a lot of problems with the order where in involved

individuals are automatically assumed as criminals which was validated through series of reports

and social media post by those who fell victim of wrong arrest. On the other hand it also curtails

the person’s right to liberty, association and due process and at the same time encourages

profiling.
 On the basis of the legality of the arrest, Commission on Human Rights spokesperson

Jacqueline de Guia said the arrests are illegal unless there is a local ordinance about anti-

loitering. In relation to this the President clarifies on a separate event that the police will only

arrest persons for Vagrancy. Apparently, the crime of vagrancy is no longer listed under an

amendment to the certain article RA 10158 removing vagrancy and only retained prostitutes as

those warranted to be arrested.

It is ironic that for somebody who has a long track record of being a local government

official, President Duterte seems to be so out of touch with reality. President Duterte assumes

that by simply limiting the people’s mobility, he would be able to lessen crime. In this policy

President Duterte is attacking the sense of community and would like to deliver a deathblow to

the society.

III. Evaluation

In its few months of implementation some blog posts of unidentified bloggers already

claimed that the recent rash of apprehension of loiterers has reduced the nation’s crime

incidence. This post has been shared in a lot of social media pages, facebook groups and already

garnered a lot of reactions from the netizens. The said blog was checked out and was later

identified as a pro-administration. According to facts from reliable sources, no recent statistics

show that the anti-tambay operations have reduced crime incidence nationwide giving a clear

conclusion that he blog posts sole content is an opinion video.

Effectiveness
 According to Human Rights Welfare deputy Asia director Phelim Kine, the new

campaign by the Philippine National Police (PNP) instead of giving the people the feeling of

security on the other hand threatens to re-traumatize residents of communities already terrorized

by 'drug war' executions. Since the scheme is quite a resemblance with the Tokhang Drive,

residents of communities fear that anytime police will just arrest them with no apparent reason.

Since the government had just launched the policy. There are still no policy instrument

applied to support the policy to achieve outcomes which conform to the objectives of public

policy. Given the countries current political and institutional conditions it is difficult to convince

the government to increase their funding allocations to programmes that will help prevent

loiterers since the main focus of President Duterte is towards his anti-drug campaign.

V. Recommendations

The country needs to analyze a number of alternatives in its on-going effort to regain peoples

trust to its deteriorating policy including: analyzing how other countries faced with similar

challenges overcame their problems through best practice models; increasing public safety

awareness; attending consultation conferences to learn the side of the people before

implementing such policies.

According to Senator Paolo Benigno Aquino during his filing of a resolution calling for an

investigation into the government’s policy against loitering and the resulting death of 25-year-

old Genesis “Tisoy” Argoncillo at the hands of Quezon City police. “There is a need to assess

whether the PNP’s anti-tambay campaign, as well as the local ordinances on which they are

supposedly based, are consistent with national laws and the Constitution,
Increased Public Safety

There will never be a complete elimination of crime. Targeting the loiterers which are

labelled by the President as possible trouble makers is also not a good solution to address the

issue with regards to the increase of street crimes. Instead the government should strengthen its

campaign towards peace and security through implementation of a more stricter and active police

patrolling system in every city or municipality in partnership with the Barangays with the help of

its Barangay Tanods. In this way the duty to secure peace and stability is not just the in the hands

of the police but also to civilians who envisions the same crime free world that anyone would

want in a country.

Target the root problem

The current administration is building a virtual prison to socially incarcerate people. By

criminalizing the tambay thus the Chief Executive effectively ignores the public’s systemic

problem with unemployment and lack of access to education, and thus, kills the people’s desire

to go beyond the boundaries of society. Poverty, as the identified root cause should be the one

addressed before this impractical arrest. The government should fund more of its programs for

education and employment to provide more opportunities that would enable these loiterers to

have a better life and also avoid being a target of the insignificant policy of the Duterte

administration.

Comprehensive Planning and Implementing Scheme

 The policy is not that totally bad after all. But there is really a problem when it comes to

the implementation. Since the President grant the police the power to apprehend loiterers these

police officers tend to abuse this power and use it against someone they hate or someone they are

ordered to arrest. Since this policy was just a verbal directive from the President, it lack a lot in

terms of technicalities in the implementation. To address this problem the president must first

withdraw the directive in its implementation then have it be in written form complete with

implementing rules and regulations that includes the goal and the clear grounds for arrest that

will be the basis for the police before they do such apprehension.

References
Jenny Ortueste, June 21, 2018, Being a Tambay is not a crime
http://thestandard.com.ph/opinion/columns/pop-goes-the-world-by-jenny-ortuoste/268599/being-
a-tambay-is-not-a-crime.html

Jodesz Gavilan, June 26, 2018, HRW: Anti-tambay policy 'retraumatizes' communities
affected by drug war, https://www.rappler.com/nation/205778-human-rights-watch-anti-
tambay-policy-retraumatize-communities-drug-war

Hanna Torregoza,, June 26,2018, Bam Aquino files resolution to probe anti-tambay policy
https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/06/25/bam-aquino-files-resolution-to-probe-anti-tambay-policy/

Nestor Corrales, June 28,2018, Palace to critics of ‘anti-tambay drive:’ Question it before SC
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1005026/palace-to-critics-of-anti-tambay-drive-question-it-before-
sc-duterte-crackdown-tambay-loiterers-palace-roque-sc#ixzz5O1KHYaX6

PhilStar.com, June 29, 2018, 20 things you need to know about the 'anti-tambay' drive
https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2018/06/29/1829055/20-things-you-need-know-about-anti-
tambay-drive#13CJDgMGKTzkfqIW.99

Rappler.com, June 29, 2018, HOAX: ‘Anti-Tambay’ operations reduced crime incidence
nationwide, https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/fact-check/206105-hoax-anti-tambay-loitering-
operations-crime-incidence