As the police continuously make headlines for their actions perceived to oppose their mandate, an old video of a young contestant on “It’s Showtime” sharing comments about them made waves online anew.
A link of the clip from the noontime variety show’s “Mini Me” segment aired on July 18, 2018 was reshared on local Reddit, where it reached the trending list on Wednesday.
“There’s something wrong with society when kids have this impression on cops, ‘ano po’ng hero, nambabaril lang po ‘yan…”‘ the caption reads.
The post features a viral tweet showing a portion of the segment where the contestant uttered the words that caught online Filipinos’ attention.
“NEVER GETS OLD #PULISANGTERORISTA,” the Twitter user wrote on Tuesday.
The hashtag reached the top trending list of the microblogging platform’s Philippines trends on the day Filipinos found out about a recent incident of police brutality that happened in Fairview, Quezon City.
Meanwhile, the clip features Vhong Navarro asking why the contestant, Carl Nathaniel Garcia, would not give the police officer—who is McCoy de Leon role-playing as Cardo Dalisay in “FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano”—a trophy since he “helped” them.
“Bakit hindi trophy ang bibigay mo sa kanya? Dahil siyempre hero siya e, tumutulong siya sa’tin,” Navarro said.
“Ano pong hero? Nambabaril lang ‘yan,” Garcia answers without a beat.
His response amused the audience and Karylle, one of the hosts, faced them and then covered her mouth with both hands.
She nevertheless came beside him and claimed that he only got “confused.”
“May napanood lang siya, nalito lang,” Karylle said to them.
“Tao nga po siya, tao lang siya,” Garcia said, referring to the police in the form of McCoy.
His answer amused some social media users who quipped of him being “woke” or someone actively aware of social issues.
NEVER GETS OLD #PULISANGTERORISTA pic.twitter.com/uhlVNNBeah
— Raffee 🍥 #RegisterToVote (@whuaffee) June 1, 2021
Prior to that, Garcia was initially asked about his dream to become a police officer when he grows up. He answered that he wanted their area to be peaceful and to stop robberies.
He admitted that he does not know any police in real life and that he was only familiar with those he sees on television, particularly those he sees in ABS-CBN’s flagship newscast “TV Patrol.”
Recent incidents involving the police
On Tuesday, law enforcers arrested Police Master Sergeant Hensie Zinampan for shooting a 52-year-old grandmother on Monday night. He was reportedly intoxicated and was off-duty when it happened.
The incident was recorded and cries of children could be heard at the end of the shooting.
Zinampan will face criminal and administrative charges as a consequence.
Another officer, Police Corporal Sherwin Rebot, was reported to have shot fellow cop Police Corporal Higinio Wayan last Sunday after an arm wrestling bout.
Rebot is facing administrative and criminal charges for murder and illegal possession of firearms and explosives.
Late last year, then-Police Senior Master Sergeant Jonel Nuezca was recorded shooting a mother and her son over an altercation about “boga.”
He was dismissed from the police force last January.
The incident prompted calls for reform in the institution but police and government leadership said that it was an “isolated case.”
