We are outraged by the killing of another young man which puts to question anew whether the authorities tasked to serve and protect the people have become hitmen.
Carl Angelo Arnaiz, 19, former University of the Philippines Student from Cainta, Rizal, went missing for 10 days before his body was found in a morgue in Caloocan City.
According to the Public Attorney’s Office, results of the post-mortem analysis showed he was physically attacked before he was shot dead.
Again, as in the case of Kian delos Santos, Caloocan policemen were involved. They claimed that the young man tried to rob a cab driver, whose name and details are missing from the police report.
The PNP’s continuing denial of its involvement in the tide of extrajudicial killings, a spillover of the administration’s anti-drug war, now rings more hollow amid the emerging pattern of how the victims are killed.
The PNP should delve into these cases with dispatch and transparency, and bring to the bar of justice the perpetrators. Otherwise, its credibility would even be in deeper pits and the institution would face the risk of being perceived as no different from criminal syndicates. The PNP should start with the Caloocan policemen.
There is no other time than now for the President and PNP Chief Dela Rosa to manifest determination and firmness when law enforcers invert their very role to safeguard the people by becoming killers and lawbreakers themselves. Too many have already become victims.
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PANAGUTIN ANG MGA PULIS NA LUMALABAG SA BATAS: PARTIDO LIBERAL
Nagpupuyos ang ating damdamin na may isa na namang binatilyong lalaki ang pinatay at muling nagpapatanong sa atin kung ang awtoridad na naatasang maglingkod at magprotekta sa mamamayan ay nagiging mamamatay-tao na.
Si Carl Angelo Arnaiz, 19 anyos, dating estudyante ng Unibersidad ng Pilipinas mula sa Cainta, Rizal, ay biglang nawala nang sampung araw bago natagpuan ang katawan sa isang morge sa Caloocan City.
Ayon sa Public Attorney’s Office, ang resulta ng post-mortem analysis ang nagsasabing pinahirapan muna siya bago binaril.
Muli, tulad ng sa kaso ni Kian delos Santos, pulis ng Caloocan na naman ang sangkot. Sabi nila, nagtangka ang binata na mang-hold-up ng isang taxi driver. Ang pangalan at detalye ng sinasabing biktima ng naturang krimen ay wala sa police report.
Dahil sa halos magkakaparis ang pagpatay sa mga biktima, kaduda-duda na ang patuloy na pagtanggi ng PNP sa kanilang pagkakasangkot sa extrajudicial killings, na dala ng war on drugs.
Dapat mabilis at transparent ang pagresolba ng mga kasong ito, at dapat panagutin sa batas ang mga maysala, dahil kung hindi ay mas lalong lulubog ang kanilang kredibilidad at ang institusyon ay magmumukhang tila walang pagkakaiba sa mga sindikato ng mga kriminal. Dapat umpisahan sa mga pulis ng Caloocan.
Ngayon higit kailanman dapat ipakita ng Pangulo at ni PNP Chief Dela Rosa ang determinasyon at tigas kapag ang mga nagpapatupad ng batas ay tinatalikuran ang kanilang tungkuling pangalagaan ang mamamayan at nagiging mamamatay-tao at criminal. Masyado nang marami ang naging biktima.