OSMEÑA
Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña claims he has a list of police hitmen, whom he called ‘killer boys’ from Negros Oriental who have recently been assigned or have moved to Cebu.
The list, he said, includes policemen, civilians, and a former army officer who are allegedly involved in extrajudicial killings. CDN is withholding the names in that list until further verification.
“I have no capability to investigate but then our people are telling me that they know them,” said Osmeña. He encouraged the public to send him a text message and pictures if they have any information on the ‘Killer Boys.’
The mayor also expressed concern that the spate of violence in Cebu will continue unabated with the assumption of Supt. Lito Patay as chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Central Visayas (CIDG-7).
“And now, the number one killer cop in Manila is now in Cebu, known for his recruitment with Davao Boys,” Osmeña said.
Patay was a former classmate of Senior Superintendent Royina Garma back in Davao. The mayor said he has asked Garma to ‘get rid’ of the chief of the Cebu City.
SWAT
Meanwhile, Osmeña said he will not accept the team from the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) assigned by Garma for his security.
“That’s another way of saying that ‘I’m under armed surveillance by the SWAT, which she (Garma) refused to deploy,” said Osmeña.
The mayor had been questioning why the SWAT had to wait for orders from Garma before being deployed to patrol the city.
“But they will now patrol my house, area, in my office area, so I’m no different from Cadungog. I’m under armed surveillance,” said Osmeña
“This is a device, so that if they have an operation to kill someone, the SWAT will not respond without a go signal,” he theorized.
He asked to let the SWAT be officially deployed on mobile patrols instead.
Osmeña said he distrusts this security force but he still feels safe in Cebu with a lot of people and CCTVs in the city.
But he suspects that if he leaves Cebu, he will be targeted.
He called the SWAT team deployed at Tangke and Ermita as a mere press relation stunt.
“If I were not hitting back at them, they wouldn’t be doing these… and now they’re having the SWAT move around, so they’re just trying to show the people.” said Osmeña.
He clarified that this will not make him reinstate the city’s assistance to the police force, explaining that he has to assess the situation.
“I’m just establishing my authority. I don’t want to make it seem that they can bully me. Why? Can’t they maintain their own vehicle?” said Osmeña. /by Gerard Vincent Francisco, USJ-R INTERN