No to killings

Ricky Poca

I SUPPORT the war on illegal drugs by the Duterte administration, but I frown on the killings of drug suspects.

The killings are done with impunity and the government should do something to stop it lest there be more cases like Kian Lloyd delos Santos who was believed to be murdered by the Caloocan City police.

The public cannot close their eyes on the killings, and I personally condemn the way the police is waging this war against drug traffickers and pushers without upholding due process of law.

The police is emboldened to carry out their mission in the war against drugs because of the unwavering support of the President.

Though I am happy that the President has vowed to hold accountable and responsible those policemen charged with killing Delos Santos, we must remember that due process of law is an essential element of democracy.

I believe that our democracy holds sacred the majesty of the rule of law and not of men. But it does not mean that I am against cracking down on drug traffickers who continue to pour in drugs to the community.
While we are happy that drug-related crimes have gone down, Kian’s murder can never be justified.

Though we know that minors are being used by some adult malefactors in the illegal drug trade due to their exemption from prosecution, the police should be careful in handling said minors.

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I welcome Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña’s decision to file charges against former mayor Mike Rama for failure to bid the transaction with the private dumpsite in Consolacion.

While biddings are held to ensure that transactions are not anomalous, the Consolacion dumpsite deal could be considered advantageous to the city because Cebu City paid the same tipping fee paid for by Mandaue City and Lapu-Lapu City even if Cebu City is located farther from Consolacion than the two cities.

Garbage collection was also efficient then, unlike today when one can see the garbage spread all over Cebu City. Mind you, the budget for garbage collection is four times the budget allocated during Rama’s time.

I think the incumbent mayor should first answer why the budget for garbage collection is quadruple compared to before and why garbage collection is inefficient.