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Anti-Tambay Policy Analysis
Anti-Tambay Policy Analysis
Anti-Tambay Policy Analysis
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.
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
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.
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
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
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
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
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
show that the anti-tambay operations have reduced crime incidence nationwide giving a clear
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
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.
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.
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