It all happened after duty free shopping in Paranaque… we decided to head to Mall of Asia for some more shopping and dinner. Cat, Jen & I were walking arm in arm along the mall when a massive crowd surged past us. As soon as we got a break from the crowd I realised my bag felt lighter so instinctively I looked down and noticed my bag, which was previously buckled & closed, was now open. A quick dig through my bag revealed that my passport and wallet were missing! Panic and fear engulfed me at the realisation that my very important identification and ticket out of the country was gone. Not to mention that access to my funds was now non-existent! The three of us quickly retraced our steps but to no avail! We exited the mall and Jen and Cat spoke to a guard to ask for a "lost & found" information desk while I tried to get in contact with my bank. By this time I was crying and feeling so hopeless. My holiday was just beginning and to have your indespensible things taken from you right under your nose was extremely formidable!
After what seemed like eternity I finally managed to get a hold of my bank & advised them that my card was stolen and to send me a replacement one overseas. A short while later I was approached by two undercover cops. My initial reaction was that they were going to rob me but then they flashed their ID's and greeted me warmly. They were ever so helpful and attentive as I relayed my story to them. They took down a few notes and brought me down to the police station nearby so I could give a full report.
Once at the police station, two cops sat down with me as I gave my official police report. Mind you this was all done in writing so it took a bit of time! The police writing down my report went through the usual"personal questions". DOB, nationality & my status. I told my DOB, nationality and before I had a chance to state my status the two undercover cops came around to where we were.
At this point, the four policemen were all looking at me expectently. It was soo quiet that you could have heard a pin drop on the floor. When I "announced" my single status it was like everyone had been holding their breathes in as a collective sigh sounded around the room. Now I'm probably sounding so up myself here but I kid you not..this is a true story!
One of the cops then chuckled and told me he was surprised I wasn't married yet and asked me why. The one taking down the notes removed his glasses and asked me if I had a white Australian boyfriend. By then, they were all grinning from ear to ear and the two undercover cops started jabbing each other. All I could think of was WTF?! Hello did it look like I was in the mood to give the story of my relationship (or lack thereof)?! I was just pick pocketed! What is the relevance of all this??? Instead I just groaned, rolled my eyes and told them I wansn't in the mood to make small talk considering my predicament. I also added that I didn't have a white Australian bf. The cop who asked why I wasn't married then told me he had a nephew visiting from america blah blah and basically wanted to set us up in so many words! LOL I just giggled sarcastically and stopped myself from screaming. He then went on about how he also has a brother living in Australia and that he would love to visit someday..blah blah blah …by that time I had tuned him out and concentrated on giving my statement to the other cop.
When I had finished giving my statement, the cop told me that because their "computer man" was currently out for a break, he couldn't print me out an official report with the police headquarters letterhead. I would have to either go back the following day or wait until the cop returns. I thought darn it! could my misfortunate get any worse? I chose the former simply because I couldn't bear to be within the vicinity of Mall of Asia any second longer!
As we exited the police station my aunty and cousin's husband suddenly appeared. (While at the station, I had texted them what had happened). Luck was finally turning in my favour as at the same time, the "computer man" also arrived.
Introductions were quickly made and soon I somewhat felt like I was in a tele-series legal drama. My cousin's husband introduced himself to the cops and "computer man" as Attorney ____ representing (me). Ok….. weird…..I wasn't exactly under duress, nor was I suspected of doing anything illegal.
We (attorney, aunt & I) then sat in the "computer man's" office so he could print off my official statement with the police letterhead. After typing up my statement, "computer man" gave me a copy to review. Upon scheming through the document, I couldn't help but to start editing the whole thing like an essay paper. I'm sorry, I know I wasn't exactly an honour english student and I certainly do not claim to be a grammar nazi, but the whole statement was grammatically incorrect in every sense of the word. So with my pen poised like a professor ready to mark a tower of thesis papers, I started editing the document. After awhile, Attorney abruptly pulled the paper from under my nose and told me that all that was needed was for me to scan through the doc and verify the statement, as well as confirm that the "important" information, such as my name, nationality, address, etc was accurate. Oops! I handed the statement back to "computer man" and told him there was only one correction. "Australian" is spelt with only one L.
While "computer man" printed off my statement - I should probably mention that their computer & printer was so ancient that it took eons to print off - he handed me an A5 sized bulging photo album & explained that the pictures inside were of convicted thieves arrested in Mall of Asia. He then asked me to go through it to see if any of them looked familiar. As I flipped trough the pages I gasped as it dawned on me that the majority of the thieves were young females! Call me sexist but I envisioned an album full of young male delinquents. Certainly not young innocent looking females! Just gets to show that it's always the least one you suspect and thou shall not judge a book by its cover.
Before leaving the police precinct, I noticed that the attorney slipped wads of bills into the cop's hands. I was, naturally, flabbergasted. I thought this only happened in movies and all these stories of police corruption are just fictional stories relayed to balikbayans and tourists alike. I guess I was just naïve to think that the Philippines is moving forward from that political injustice. Perhaps, with all the touristy stuff and or/places I had been doing and visiting, I became completely ignorant to the fact that the nation is still a developing country.
As we made our way back home, I came to realise that cops here are total chismosas…this might even be an understatement…sticky beaks talaga! And that corruption is still very much prevelant within the police force. While there is no doubt that the cops have certainly been very polite and hospitable, I still couldn't shake the feeling of unease at the attorney's response after I asked him why he had "tipped" them….
"so they will do their job…"It saddens me to think that the service has come to this. What's even more pitiful is the lack of trust the citizens have with the police force. It amazes me how, in people's minds, this sort of practice is seen as a norm and without this exchange would somehow impede the cops duties and obligations. Now where is the morale in that? Whatever happened to the motto of "to serve & protect"? Would that be forever synonymous with "to serve & protect
Of course, the attorney was also very much at fault for propagating this act in the first place, but I am hopeful that one day, someday, the government will seek to reform this beautiful country and that corruption will be a thing of the past.
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