The Daily Trend

This Story and Photo was originally taken and written by <a href="https://plus.google.com/110367850779921090576">Rem Zamora</a> and goes viral on Facebook. Having thousand likes and shares. 
 
 
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The story behind the crying cop... </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
It all started
peacefully.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
People were
starting to converge along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City early Monday
morning, a few hours before the State of the Nation Address. 
 
Street vendors were selling kwek-kwek (quail eggs),
bottled water and other drinks while kids were roaming around the car-free
Commonwealth Avenue looking for coins dropped by passing vehicles the previous
days. 
 
What set the scene apart from an ordinary day along
the busy highway: container trucks and barbed wires were in place, signs of of
things to come. 
 
On the other side of the fenced area, policemen
were lying on the road resting. Some of them had been posted there since two
days ago. 
 
Chaos 
 
At around 11:00 a.m., a big group of activists
arrived near Ever Gotesco Mall. The protests began. 
 
Activists hurriedly removed the metal fence on the
island, allowing them to bypass the police barricade. Anti-riot policemen from
the other side of the road ran and tried to block them, but the protesters
pushed through. 
 
There was one policeman who flashed a peace sign to
the protesters, asking them to remain calm. He urged activists to hold a
dialogue instead of resorting to violence. 
 
And then chaos began. 
 
On one side, policemen blocked and pushed
protesters away. On the other, the activists told the first line of security
that they wanted to go near Batasan Complex. 
 
Rocks were thrown and people were hit with
truncheons and shields. Most of the members of the media stayed on top of a
dump truck to give them a good vantage view, while some remained in the middle,
sandwiched by the clashing protesters and policemen. 
 
Crying cop 
 
It was a long and tiring dispersal. According to
reports, at least 50 were injured in the clashes. 
 
But amid the chaos, my lens caught a scene I
thought I would never see during a dispersal. 
 
A foreign protester was berating a policeman asking
him why they were hurting the people. “Why are you doing this to us? Why are
you hurting us?!” 
 
The officer simply stood his ground. “I am a
policeman, I’m just doing my job.” 
 
He said his job was to maintain peace and order. He
said they were given orders and they had to follow. 
 
Suddenly, the police officer cried. 
 
The foreigner kept on shouting at this officer. But
the policeman couldn't stop crying. He was trying to hold his tears, but he
couldn't. 
 
Another round of clashes erupted. The policemen
were still trying to push and shove the protesters away. The crying cop simply
stood his ground. He was still holding his shield firmly. Still weeping,
sobbing. 
 
Later, I approached the policeman and asked him his
name. He said he is Joselito. A quick glance at his name tag revealed he is
policeman Joselito Sevilla. 
 
He said he is a private, and his uniform patch
showed he is from the Marikina police unit. 
 
Asked why he cried, he only said: "Sa gutom at
pagod. Walang tulog. Walang pahinga. Dalawang araw na kami naka-deploy dito.
Tapos ganito, nagkakagulo." 
 
It was also PO1 Sevilla's first dispersal
assignment. 
 
Realization 
 
I finally understood him. No sleep. No food. No
rest. And he came face-to-face with protesters whose goal was to break the
police line. 
 
Sevilla was physically and emotionally exhausted. 
 
But he was following orders. He was just doing his
job not to let protesters get near the Batasan Complex. 
 
He did not hurt the protesters, even if some were
already throwing rocks and hitting cops with wooden sticks. 
 
Finally, some protesters noticed him, too: a
policeman, whom they expected to retaliate, was in front of them, holding his
shield firmly, weeping. 
 
And then they started to console PO1 Sevilla. A man
held his shoulder, telling him that everything would be alright. Another woman
comforted him, as she tried to give him a handkerchief to wipe his tears. 
 
Amid the chaos, these two protesters hugged PO1 Sevilla
and assured him everything would be fine. 
 
Seconds later, other policemen noticed what was
happening and they moved PO1 Sevilla away from the front lines, away from the
activists. 
 
I was caught in the middle and I couldn't find him
anymore. He was gone. 
 
Show of strength
 
State forces, especially policemen, are expected to
be firm and not show emotions. What PO1 Sevilla did was not what was expected
of him. 
 
Did the other anti-riot policemen remove him from
the front line? 
 
This incident only shows we are all human beings.
It is not bad to show weakness by crying; that we can still do our job, stand
our ground, but still be peaceful and not hurt another human being; that two
opposing groups can still show compassion as shown by the man and woman who hugged
PO1 Sevilla.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">

Hours after the violent protests, I reviewed my set
of photos taken during the day. I smiled when I saw the photo of the policeman
flashing the peace sign before the dispersal. It was PO1 Joselito Sevilla</blockquote>
 
Share your thoughts on the comment box below!</div>

The Story Behind The Crying Cop

This Story and Photo was originally taken and written by Rem Zamora and goes viral on Facebook. Having thousand likes and shares. T...