“Prevent crimes. If not, solve it.”
This was the order of Chief Supt. Robert Quenery, director of the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7), to all police offices and units following the series of killings that transpired in Metro Cebu in the past days.
In an interview yesterday, the region’s top police official said policemen must implement security measures to prevent murders in their respective places of assignments.
And if crimes happen, the most the police can do, Quenery said, is to do their best to identify the perpetrators and render justice to the families of the victims.
“Solve the killings that were reported, analyze these case thoroughly, and come up with good outputs,” he said.
“The work of the police is to prevent crimes. But if you won’t be able to prevent it, then solve it,” he added.
At least 19 persons were gunned down in the cities of Cebu, Lapu-Lapu, Mandaue, and Talisay and Minglanilla town from Feb. 16 to 26, based on police reports.
Twelve of the victims were killed by still unidentified assailants while five, including a police officer, died in separate anti-drug operations. Two persons were seriously injured.
But the PRO-7 said there is nothing much to worry since most of these cases were caused by a personal grudge, and were not carried out by a particular group.
Quenery said the war on illegal drugs will continue, and he could not assure the public that it will be bloodless.
In conducting operations, he said policemen are expected to protect themselves, hence drug suspects must peacefully surrender and avoid engaging law enforcers in a shootout.
“There are cases when our police officers are left with no option but to defend themselves. One of our police officers was recently gunned down. And I’d rather see my policemen standing than seeing them dead,” Quenery said.
Last Feb. 19, PO2 Evie Espina, an anti-narcotics operative of Minglanilla Police Station, was killed by suspected drug pusher Jovelio Franza in a drug bust.
Franza was also killed by Espina’s fellow policemen.
As the police step up its campaign against narcotics, Quenery said they are also expecting illegal drug syndicates to go against each other due to pressure.
“The drug problem is a web of treachery and deceit. It’s an underground business. Anybody can do anything to anybody especially when the business goes wrong,” he said.