Senate drama

IT'S almost too hard to believe. That the fair-skinned, soft-spoken, well-groomed man being grilled on TV is a suspected drug lord who operated in Eastern Visayas. Yes, I'm talking about Rolando “Kerwin” Espinosa Jr., who is finally back in the country after his arrest in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

If all the allegations against him are true, this man is responsible for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of lives destroyed as a result of his alleged illegal drug trade.

He already admitted that he transacted with police officials, as well as give them weekly payolas.

If the police officials are indeed guilty, they, too, should be made to pay.

Speaking of guilty, did PNP Chief Bato de la Rosa have to break down in tears during yesterday's Senate hearing?

I know he considers himself “father” of the country's men and women in blue, and believes it is his duty to protect his “children” in the crack down against illegal drugs, but it doesn't mean he should shield those who are suspected of committing anomalies in the line of duty.

Otherwise, de la Rosa and his office would lose credibility and their moral ascendancy. That was the gist of Sen. Panfilo Lacson's rebuke, wasn't it?

I wasn't paying too much attention to Sen. Miguel Zubiri's questioning, so I was surprised when de la Rosa's voice suddenly cracked, and he started to cry. Oh come on. Seriously? As I had said earlier, I am more than willing to look the other way while the bodies pile up, but I admit that I, too, need to face the facts. That what took place inside the Baybay City Sub-Provincial Jail last Nov. 5 was highly anomalous.

Two men died in that alleged shootout, one of them being Kerwin's father, Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Sr.

The evidence against operatives of the CIDG 8, who were there to serve a search warrant on reports that Rolando Sr. and Raul Yap continued their alleged drug operations, looks pretty damning. Or so it would seem.

I had ignored the facts because I thought the message was more important. That no drug personality, no matter how high-up, is safe from authorities.

But Senator Lacson was right. The police could not be seen as acting with impunity or they risk losing public support.

And it didn't help that when pressed about the events that transpired in the early hours of Nov. 5, the country's highest police official would suddenly go off on a tangent.

I mean, how did it become a “me against the world” scenario?

I thought Zubiri's questioning was straightforward. It was clear he was not putting the Philippine National Police, as an institution, on the stand. He just wanted to know what really happened when the CIDG 8 operatives entered the Baybay City Sub-Provincial Jail that resulted to the deaths of Rolando Sr. and Yap.

As PNP chief, de la Rosa should be man enough to admit that his men could err without having to use the “we will survive” spiel. After all, as he said, they're only human.