The other day I was on my way home, driving along the circumferential highway, when the traffic suddenly started to build up and then slowed down to a crawl. It slowed down so much that I contemplated making a turn and taking an alternate route, but after a quick check with the maps app on my phone for the traffic, decided to stick it out.
The traffic was flowing slowly because the highway had been reduced to 1 lane, as the right lane was clogged with what looked like parked trucks and motorcycles. Finally, upon reaching the end of the slowdown, the cause was revealed. The massive traffic slowdown was caused by a lone cop car conducting a checkpoint and the cars and motorcycles that didn’t want to be checked and shaken down for violations that they were most probably guilty of anyway, had piled up, where the head of the violator snake was engaged in a staring contest with the cops.
All those trucks and motorcycles that were occupying one lane of the highway were most likely guilty of a couple of violations, because if they weren’t, they’d be confident enough to take on the checkpoint without being penalized. Instead, they all just chose to park on the road, creating one giant parking violation while they chose to wait out the cops.
The most common violation they are probably trying to avoid getting caught with and paying for would be expired registration papers and driver’s licenses, for both the trucks and motorcycles. Other violations for motorcycle drivers could be no helmets or closed shoes, or maybe illegal noisemaking exhaust pipes. If I were a cop doing check points, I might as well check their lights too, because there are so many vehicles that don’t have proper or working head/tail lights, making them a danger to other drivers by either blinding us, or being invisible at night.
But what good is a checkpoint if all the violators can just wait out the authorities? It becomes a mere reminder that causes inconvenience to the rest of us who know that we can pass the checkpoint because everything is in order, but have to deal with the heavy traffic that their staredown causes.
The funny thing is that checkpoint rules of engagement apparently don’t allow the cops to leave their established area, so all they can do is engage in a staring contest with their potential customers that have formed a blockade and caused traffic that was probably more than a kilometer long. How’s that for doing the public a service?
Because the cops can’t move to apprehend them, and the potential violators or those afraid of kotong cops block an entire lane by refusing to move forward, what the rest of us get is a heavy traffic stalemate that essentially achieves nothing.
However, if you come to think of it, there must be a reason why so many drivers would rather not face the cops, even if they are fairly confident that their papers and vehicles are in order. Perhaps this has to do with the reputation of the ‘kotong’ cops who, according to legend, will always find a reason to penalize. This negative reputation is something that the PNP certainly has to work on, because as their employers, Filipinos shouldn’t be afraid of cops. Getting rid of the kotong and killer cop tropes that are sullying the reputation of the force is a challenge that the PNP leadership has to take seriously. Another way of changing the image of cops to a friendlier one would be if they stopped cosplaying in full battle gear during regular or even festive situations when tactical vests, helmets, and high powered firearms are totally unnecessary.
The seemingly useless checkpoints probably serve a strategic purpose, because the cops wouldn’t insist on doing it if it were totally useless. Maybe it reminds motorists to get their documents or vehicles in order, so they can drive through instead of stopping every time they see a checkpoint. Maybe it gives our cops something to do, so they look busy and we appreciate them more.
However, until we somehow understand the logic for those checkpoint staredowns, the only thing we can see is how it seems to be just an unnecessary and ineffective inconvenience, making us wonder if those in charge can find ways to do things better.*
