The officer and the newshound
Last Tuesday, President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the Philippine National Police (PNP) to let journalists join raids in the government’s campaign to wipe out the drug menace.
“Bring the media and let them go first so that they can get the story from the beginning to the end,” the President said.
I guess Duterte still couldn’t get over the fact that his deadly campaign to rid the streets of all sorts of criminality has hit a bump in the road.
And it was all because of 17-year-old Kian delos Santos, who was killed during a drug operation in Caloocan City last month.
Police said the boy was a drug dealer who tried to shoot at authorities during the raid. But they didn’t count on the statements of witnesses that Kian was shot in a dark alley as he was kneeling and pleading for his life. And let’s not forget the barangay security camera that captured two policemen dragging away the teenager shortly before shots were heard and Kian was found with a bullet hole in his head and a pistol in his left hand even though his parents said their son was right-handed.
But before the dust could settle on the issue, there was another outcry over the death of Carl Angelo Arnaiz, who was killed when he allegedly shot it out with Caloocan police after robbing a taxi driver also last month.
When the 19-year-old’s body was examined by a government forensic expert, it was discovered that Carl Angelo had been handcuffed and tortured before he was shot five times, which led to his death.
The Arnaizes said Carl Angelo and his 14-year-old friend had gone out late at night to buy some snacks but never returned home.
Ten days later, his parents found him in a funeral home, while his companion was later discovered dead with his head wrapped in plastic.
Duterte claimed that Carl Angelo was related to him, although he never clarified how.
“Ako? Papayag ako na papataying ng police ang kamag-anak ko (Would I allow the police to kill my relatives)?” he said.
Duterte said there are people out there “to discredit” his administration. He also asked PNP Chief Ronald dela Rosa to look into the recent deaths because someone out there was “sabotaging” the latter’s anti-drugs efforts.
The President reiterated that his administration does not practice or condone extrajudicial killings even though he had repeatedly threatened a gallows’ fate for drug personalities in the past.
As to his promise to defend police from lawsuits and to grant them a presidential pardon if they are convicted of crimes while fighting the war against illegal drugs, we’ll find out if the cops tagged in the death of Kian are found guilty.
Meanwhile, the public backlash over the deaths of Kian and Carlo Angelo continues to stump Duterte. “Why would we kill the innocent?” he deplored. And now he wants journalists to take positions beside law enforcers when they go after drug personalities in the latter’s hideouts. Maybe he believes this is the only way to silence the media and to justify the thousands who have died since the government embarked on this bloody campaign.
Maybe. Then again, the President can always outfit police officers with body cameras so they can record everything that transpires when they conduct raids or busts.
The President reiterated that his administration does not practice or condone extrajudicial killings even though he had repeatedly threatened a gallows’ fate for drug personalities in the past.