Harsh penalty for lawbreakers
ANG NANINIWALA sa sabi-sabi ay walang bait sa sarili (One who easily believes scuttlebutt doesn’t have a mind of his own)—an old Filipino proverb.
I’m not saying President Noynoy is cuckoo, but it looked like he was nearly convinced by the tale of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) that had doubted the report that police commandos killed Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir, alias “Marwan.”
P-Noy had initially suggested that there was an “alternative version” that Marwan’s own bodyguards killed him before Special Action Force (SAF) troopers came upon his body.
He had to be reassured by the SAF and other agencies of the government version of the incident before he would be convinced of the truth.
Why he would believe the MILF and not his own troops is beyond comprehension.
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Article continues after this advertisementA policeman was killed by fellow cops in Davao City recently after they allegedly caught him peddling illegal drugs.
Article continues after this advertisementYes, sir, there are still drug pushers in the city but they are immediately punished, as what was done to the alleged pusher-cop.
Even policemen are not spared from the city’s brand of harsh justice if they abuse their authority.
Just thinking aloud: Why can’t the Philippine National Police make Davao City its reformatory by assigning scalawag members of the force to the city?
If the problematic cops continue in their wicked ways, that means they are really beyond reform and drastic measures have to be taken for them to learn their lessons.
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As I think about the harsh punishment for law enforcers who abuse their authority, I’m reminded about the example set by four Manila policemen who arrested, detained and maltreated Michael Hingpit just because he is gay.
The erring policemen—SPO1 Renato Ablaza, PO3 Ruel Aguilar, PO2 Patrick Guevarra and PO2 Ronald Robles—must be so sick in the head, if the complaint is proven true.
According to Michael’s complaint, the four also tried to force him to have sex with his friend, while they watch.
Not contented with robbing Michael of his cell phone and P5,500, they also allegedly demanded that his relatives come to the station with more money for his release.
The Manila cops, Michael added, were not even affected by his sister Leah’s confession that she had to break her children’s piggy banks containing P1,500 so she could add the amount to the P5,500 they were demanding from Michael.
When they were already at the station, the cops reportedly told Michael that he was arrested for drug possession and that he could only be released if he gave them money.
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If you’ve been following the story about the four abusive Manila policemen, you probably are wondering why I keep on repeating the tale over and over to the point of sounding like a broken record.
If I were to rate their abusive behavior from 1 to 10—l being the lowest and 10 the highest—I would give them a 9.5 mark.
As a longtime police reporter and self-styled “sumbungan ng mga naaapi” (refuge of the oppressed), this is my first time to encounter such kind of abuse committed by policemen on a civilian.
And you know what? There has been no reaction so far from the National Police Commission (Napolcom) regarding Michael’s plight.
The governing body of the PNP, the Napolcom has disciplinary powers over policemen.
It should be abolished for being such a useless agency.
