PRO-7 chaplain to talk to priest ‘under threat’
Police in Central Visayas will not yet send personnel to secure the priest who earlier claimed being targeted by killers after his criticisms against the bloody drug war of the Duterte administration.
Police Regional Office-7 chief Debold Sinas instead would prefer sending their chaplain, Supt. Raynaldo Piañar, to talk with Rev. Father Amado Picardal, who claimed Monday he could not go out for biking, running or walking due to security concerns.
“He just issued a statement, but amoa whether ingon ana na (claims of threats), i-find out namo. Dili ko magpadala didto og polis kay threat siya didto. Amo lang ipadala ang akong chaplain service didto sa ilaha para mag-coordinate and hopefully, mag-positive to kay pareha man sila pari,” Sinas said.
Picardal had said that he has gone into "more secure location and out of the public view” since Monday following the sightings of suspicious men who were supposed to kill him while he was in a monastery in Cebu.
Sinas, however, said Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) has not received any report regarding the priest’s claims.
He is hopeful that Piañar mission would turn out well since the two have kindred spirit as men of the cloth.
“Gipadala nako akong pari pud, ang pari pud nako para sila’y magkasinabot then they will talk kung unsa gyud ang iyahang threat,” Sinas said.
Sinas urged Picardal to cooperate with the police first for the assessment of the threat. He said they will be willing to provide security following the assessment.
“Wala man mi kahibalo (veracity of threat), so we would like to assist him whether kung unsa’y mahitabo niya, problema sad baya na namo. Mas maayo pa amo na lang siya i-secure ang kinahanglan namo, mag-cooperate unta siya,” he said.
However, Sinas also said they will not impose on giving security at the moment.
“Depende lagi if di siya ganahan og security, nganong mamugos man mi? Pero we will help him secure sa iyaha. We are willing to help him,” he said.
Picardal was one of the active critics of Duterte even before his presidency. He reportedly documented the killings related to drugs in Davao City from 19982015, when Duterte was still the local chief executive.
However, based on his interview with the Associated Press in 2016, witnessed would not turn against Duterte for they were “very frightened”, consequently leading for him to fail in pinning Duterte to be behind the string of killings then.
Picardal in the same interview, also publicly warned that Duterte will replicate his vigilante-style in the nationwide crackdown against illegal drugs.
At present, police-led anti-illegal drug operations have claimed a total of 4,500 lives of drug suspects, who were killed in operations since Duterte assumed the post in July 2016.
Records of from several independent human rights organizations showed that the number of deaths were even more than that.
The killings have drawn attention from several human rights watchdogs and even the international criminal court, which is already reviewing the cases.
For his part, Duterte maintained he does not care being criticized with his methods, and in expletiveladen public speeches continued to air his spite on all forms of narcotics and those who are involved in it. —
Mae Clydyl L. Avila/ KBQ