Losing public trust

The good news is the fine sleuthing that led to the solution of this grisly crime. But it’s still disappointing for the public to learn that three policemen and a former employee of the Bureau of Corrections are among the principal suspects in the kidnapping and murder of a woman whose body was found in a plastic drum floating in the Pasig River.

Real estate agent Adora Lazatin was found in the drum nearly naked, with her head, hands and feet bound with packing tape and a nylon cord looped around her neck. Why did she face this brutal death? Because her killers wanted to clean out her ATM account.

They had withdrawn about P200,000 when they were collared by members of the National Bureau of Investigation, which deployed about 100 men to stake out dozens of ATMs in four cities for five days after Lazatin’s son sought NBI help. Inspector Eljie Jacobe of the National Capital Region Police Office was still in uniform when he was nabbed at 3:30 a.m. in front of an ATM in Taguig.

The other arrested suspects are Police Officers 1 Mark Jay de los Santos and Edmon Gonzales, a civilian named Empire Salas, and Domingo Balanquit of the Bureau of Corrections, although officials said he is no longer with the bureau.

There is no question that public confidence in law enforcement is eroded when police personnel can commit such an atrocity over P200,000. The Philippine National Police must review its recruitment policies and enhance monitoring of the activities of its personnel. Law enforcement succeeds best when it enjoys the trust, support and cooperation of the citizenry. Crimes such as the one against Lazatin can destroy that trust.