Darth Bukaneg finds his Darth Sith

Pom read my previous blog about airsofting.  She probably took pity on me and surprised me with wonderful gifts before she flew to her vacation last Saturday.

            She went with her sister Emily to downtown Manila last Friday.  I told her I wanted a black cap to complement my ukay and repaired SWAT Tactical Uniform (STU) I use in our airsofting games.  She let me on a bit by texting me she had a surprise for me.  When I arrived at the CERV office that evening, there was not only the exact pleated cap I wanted, she also showed me—with relish—a complete battle dress uniform (BDU)!  I barely checked myself from squealing like a little girl (because Emily was there waiting for my reaction).  Not wanting to show how excited I was, I thought of trying it on upon reaching home later that night.  But Pom was not to be denied her amusement.  She wanted me to try them on.  So I did.  Finally!  A uniform that does not make me look like lumpia—it fit perfectly, my beer belly notwithstanding.

            Then my wife took pains in explaining that it was the official PNP-RSAF/SWAT uniform.  At least that was what the sales clerk told her.  We don’t know if they were factory overruns or that some police (and even military) officers sold them off for some extra and illegal income.  Nevertheless, I remember Chief Supt. Oscar Calderon saying late last year that civvies found wearing police and military uniforms complete with badges and insignias will be arrested as they may be using them for illegal activities.  He said that doing so are violations of Articles 177 (Usurpation of Authority or Official Functions) and 179 (Illegal Use of Uniforms or Insignia) of the Revised Penal Code.  The PNP chief conveniently forgot to mention that most bank robberies, kidnapping for ransom and other organized crime activities ARE being committed by active and former police and military officers. 

No PNP badges and insignias for my STU then.  But so what?  Who wants to be a PNP but the desperate and the criminally-minded Filipino men and women?  (I grant there are some police and military persons who play by the rules, but they are the minority and are inside brigs instead of command offices.)  The first (and hopefully the last) time I wore a PNP uniform was to act a role that parodied the idiotic police policies on legit dissent.  That is why I don’t blame Jaz Lumang-Buncan her dislike of my preference to black police uniforms.  But my AEG is an HK MP5, which is really a police weapon.  I like it better than the more popular M4/M16s.  I find the AK47 series to be too heavy for me.  And I like CQBs better than field play.  So no olive greens or desert browns for me, sorry.

Back to the subject of my wife’s gifts.

After taking off the uniforms, Pom playfully said that my medium-cut sneakers no longer look right with my STU.  I thought she was egging me to be aggressive in finding a pair of second-hand combat shoes.  But then she turned around and produced from her shopping bag a brand-new pair.  She dropped them on my lap and immediately saw they were first class.  They were very light, despite their size.  I have not seen a local police officer wear one.  The pair was genuine leather, had gum soles, steel toes, exhausts holes and padded insides.  Pom told me that it was made by Marikina’s Gibsons and that it was an export overrun of those made for foreign police forces.  I had doubts whether I would be able to slog it through mud and debris and not be worried if I give it a scratch or two.

And how much did she pay for all these?  Shockingly cheap!  Lord bless our ukay economy!  I did not even feel guilt for our spending for these non-essential items.

Comments

[AYA]

inggit ako!!!! im so looking forwar to see you in our next game.

yuhee! feeling gwapo na sya!

so tel me, magkano nga talaga ang lahat ng iyan?

[Raymund]

"forwar"? "yuhee"? "tel"?

at hoy! di pa man ako ipinapanganak, gwapo na ako. di ako feeling. gwapo ako talaga.

sa game day ko na lang sabihin. mas mura pa sa pagawa sa tokyo marui ng kaibigan ni fafa.

tama na satsat! laro na!

[Ian Dexter]

Oi! Kelan mo ko isasama sa airsoft gimik mong 'yan, ha? Pwede ba sumpit dyan? Heh.