Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla made good on his public pledge, going directly to the home of Jhony Lanquino in Barangay Addition Hills, Mandaluyong City, to deliver a face-to-face apology — and handing back the P500 fine the worker had paid at city hall.
Lanquino had been ticketed by police on April 10 during a Simultaneous Inter-Agency Anti-Criminality Operation, known as Oplan Galugad, for being shirtless while mixing cement just outside his house. The incident went viral on social media and set off a wave of public criticism against the DILG’s “Safer Cities” initiative.
His wife, Norietta Lanquino, said she welcomed Remulla’s gesture. “Nagpasalamat ako kasi kahit papaano napansin niya yung mga mali or yung hindi tamang pagpapatupad doon sa batas na walang pang-itaas. So hindi naman ako against doon sa mga batas na bawal uminom sa kalsada. Tama naman yun pero dapat po inano po niya talaga kung hanggang saan lang po yung walang suot,” she said.
Jhony himself had explained that he had stepped inside to remove his sweat-soaked shirt before heading back out to work. “Sobra. Inagpawis na eh. Basa na yung damit ko. Pumasok ako doon at naghubad. Tamang-tama noong paglabas ko, pagbukas ko diyan ang simento, maghahalo ako. Bigla man dumating yung mga pulis at tanod,” he said. He added that he had no idea going shirtless in front of his own home — which sits away from the main road — could be considered a violation.
At a Camp Crame press briefing days earlier, Remulla had already taken blame for the enforcement breakdown. “Ngunit dahil sa kakulangan ng aking paliwanag, kahit sino na lang na walang t-shirt ay dinampot. Mali po iyon. Nagkamali po kami roon, and I take full responsibility,” he said.
The DILG chief said a command conference would be convened to spell out clearer boundaries on how the program should be carried out, including specific exemptions for people doing physical labor. He stressed that the Safer Cities initiative — which also covers public drinking, smoking, minor curfew enforcement, and late-night karaoke — would not be suspended.
“Nevertheless, the Safer Cities initiative has begun and it will progress. It will progress to other forms of making the city safer which I will announce in the next few weeks as we perfect this,” Remulla said.
The Manila Police District, meanwhile, had already pulled back — ordering its officers to issue warnings rather than make arrests over the no-shirt policy, following the public backlash. Remulla said the government would assess the program’s impact on focus crimes using April data before deciding on further adjustments.
