Banning short people from events, including political rallies, is discriminatory.The Cebu City Police Office should stop insisting that prohibiting “minor-looking who are under four feet tall,” as deputy chief for operations Lt. Col. Wilbert Parilla put it, during the Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan’s April 2 proclamation rally at the Cebu City Sports Center was not discrimination. It was. Why? There is no law that bans individuals under four feet from any event.The ban on people under four feet was agreed by the CCPO, organizers and the Cebu City Emergency Operations Center to prevent their being pinned down in case people raced and pushed each other toward the entrances, Parilla earlier said.One may say that the absence of a law that backs up police decisions is a common excuse for people who want to disobey authorities. Not really so. It is dangerous for the public and society to have a police force that imposes security measures that are not backed up by laws.The 1987 Freedom Constitution guarantees the right of every Filipino to assembly. Now that Cebu City is under Alert Level 1 status, activities in indoor and outdoor venues are allowed as long as participants follow minimum health protocols such as wearing of face masks and observing a safe physical distance.Local authorities must review the Constitution.True, there is a need to control the crowd during political events to prevent any untoward incidents like stampedes. Local authorities must have learned a lesson from the “Arat na Cebu!” concert, which saw over 20 people hurt.However, the decision to prohibit people under four feet tall from entry is nonsense at its finest. What did the police do last April 2? Did each police officer assigned at the entrances bring a tape measure to get the exact height of each short individual going inside the venue?