Law and order hits the stage

The capital's policemen know their credibility is in the dirt. President Fidel Ramos himself has said public distrust in the force has reached a 'highly critical' level.

Since 1992, at least three nationwide schemes to get communities to trust their local police officers have been tried, but it is still not unusual for the ordinary Filipino to be afraid of policemen. This is borne out in a survey which shows that for every crime reported, between 50 to 300 more remain unreported.

But last week some members of the force attempted to redress the problem by staging a musical. For three nights about 10 policemen sang and danced in Andres Bonifacio: Ang Dakilang Anakpawis (A Working Class Hero) at a theatre in Manila's financial district.