PHOTOS and a video of two “traffic enforcers” in adult diapers posted by a group which likes to pull pranks on unsuspecting crowds fail to tickle the Philippine National Police’s funny bone. The group behind the “social experiment ” claims it was merely trying to draw attention to the need for more portalets for traffic men on duty during Pope Francis’ visit.
Contributed photo
The incident all started when Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chairman Francis Tolentino announced that traffic enforcers on duty for the procession of the Black Nazarene in January would be given adult diapers, as toilets would be in short supply during the event. He said that the event could be a dry run for the visit of Pope Francis.
A video of two “policemen” in blue uniforms and adult diapers–without pants–patrolling during Pope Francis’ concluding Mass in Luneta on Sunday made rounds on the internet.
At first, netizens were amused with the video posted on Facebook by Project Awesome Philippines, who initially claimed the men were “traffic officers during the Papal visit in Quirino Grandstand.”
But some began pointing out that the act was disrespectful to police officers who “did their excellent job keeping peace and order” while the Pope was in the country.
When it started causing stir on social media, Project Awesome’s Paul Agabin defended the stunt and said in a Facebook comment: “This is a social experiment, not real cops (badges are fake).”
As of posting of this story, Project Awesome has made the video of the “social experiment” private.
Like the majority of netizens, PNP spokesperson Chief Superintendent Wilben Mayor was not pleased about the “social experiment.”
Mayor told reporters it was “unfair and insulting” to the PNP, who had its 25,000 men deployed to protect the Pope and the public.
For National Capital Region Police Office head Director Carmelo Valmoria, the organizers of the stunt “have nothing better to do with their lives.”
“Wala na silang magawa sa buhay at linoko nila ang mga tao,” Valmoria said in a text message.
(They have nothing to do with their lives so they just fooled the people.)
If the PNP would pursue charges against the group, they might face a violation of usurpation of authority and illegal use of uniform or insignia under the revised penal code.
But Mayor said the PNP will not focus on the people behind the prank video.
“We will instead devote our time to serve and protect the people,” he said.
On Tuesday, Paul Agabin of Project Awesome Philippines issued an apology and clarified that the pictures were taken while they were videotaping the two men posing as traffic enforcers.
According to him, the social experiment was aimed at “investigating the effect of officers wearing diapers due to limited portalets.”
“We would like to apologize to the public for the misunderstanding… We also apologize [on] behalf of Tony Ahn who uploaded the first batch of pictures. But netizens should [pin] the blame [on] us, not him,” Agabin said in a message.
The pictures went viral after Ahn, a netizen who said he saw the men on Roxas Boulevard, posted these on his Facebook page.
The PNP, however, was not amused and clarified that the two men featured in the social experiment were not policemen. It added that none of the 28,000 men it had deployed for crowd control during Pope Francis’ visit to the country wore diapers.
PNP spokesperson Chief Supt. Wilben Mayor told reporters in Camp Crame on Tuesday that the stunt was “an unfair portrayal of policemen who worked hard under the sun and rain to ensure the safety of Pope Francis and devotees.” –With reports by Julie M. Aurelio, Julliane Love De Jesus
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
