It was a rainy Saturday, 28th of May 2011, and I was on my way to meet a friend and his nephew to watch Kung Fu Panda 2. I carefully parked my car infront of an "ukay-ukay" near the highway so I can catch a bus that would take me to the mall. I do this every weekend because I hate riding a tricycle going out of the subdivision where I live. It was supposed to be like any other weekend, but the events of the next 30 minutes changed my life forever.
As I was crossing the street on my way to the covered walk-way beside the local 7-11, I got myself stuck standing in the middle of the rather busy street. There were lots of cars going to and fro and I decided to stay in the middle until the road clears of traffic. Beside me was a woman with some kids in tow. The traffic behind me went to a standstill as a few more people crossed the street. After almost a minute, I went on my way to the bus station. But before I can even reach the pedestrian overpass, I decided to text my friend to say that I am on my way to the mall. As I was reaching for my bag, I noticed that the back pocket was open. I didn't pay much attention to it at first and thought that I just left my phones at the car. So I went back and noticed that it was not there! Then it dawned to me... I lost my phone to a pick pocket!
I immediately drove my way to the nearby police station and was greeted by two police men who were lazily seated in their rather rather cozy, cold office. I told them that I lost my phones to (a) pickpocket(s) just a few meters away from the police station. A lanky police man said, "wow, ikaw na ang pangalawa ah ngayon!" (translation: " you were the second victim in the past hour!") Then they told me that there was nothing they can do for me and asked me to report the incident to the central police station over at the city hall.
So I grabbed my keys and drove myself to the central police station. The police on duty wasn't really helpful either. After reporting my story, all he did was write down my story at this "logbook" and told me that there is nothing much they can do for me. They can't deploy people to work on my complaint because: (1) it was a Saturday and they were operating on skeletal duty and (2) it's beyond their jurisdiction (my jaw dropped at this point). The police officer told me that I should have reported this to the nearest police station where the incident occured which is like located in the ghetto part of the city. Geez.
Then I said to myself, wow, great! Just like the movies.
After pleading for minutes, they said that I can just go back on Monday to get the police report. I told the officer that I would rather get it now than go back on Monday. What he told me almost broke my heart:
"Iho, walang opisina ngayon, Usually bente pesos lang itong report pero since ipriprint pa namin ito sa loob, isang daan ito!" (translation: "Sorry son, its a Saturday and no one will print this report. However, I can have this printed for you for 100 Pesos. If you come back on Monday, it will just be 20 bucks")
Another wow moment. Corruption right before my eyes. I just said yes because it would be fruitless arguing to a greedy policeman. I left the police station with my police report, a broken spirit and a soul that resigned to the feeling that I was robbed twice in the span of 30 minutes: first by an unscrupulous individual who took my Blackberry and Nokia phone, and lastly by a police officer who took advantage of my helpless situation for a quick buck.
I was a victim til the end.
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