It’s been a bad week for Cebu-based cops but from these debacles we hope the Police Regional Office (PRO-7) can do more to improve and fine tune their operations against illegal drugs in order to reduce the loss of lives.
The relief of all Talisay City police officers except for the city police chief over the weekend was followed last Monday with the filing of charges against Cebu City police officers assigned at the Carbon police precinct for the death of four-year-old Bladen Skylar Abatayo in an anti-drug operation last July 10.
In both instances, the public was exposed to at least two things that plague the government’s anti-drug operation; the overzealousness of police officers in cracking down on drug suspects which can result in civilian deaths caught in the crossfire — colloquially referred to as “collateral damage” in military circles–and the pervasive corruption that exists within the ranks of police.
In “Baby Skye’s” case, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) will have to dig deep and build their case against the police officers to determine if they have indeed overstepped their bounds and grossly neglected to follow prescribed rules of engagement, if any, in dealing with drug suspects.
Again, even with President Rodrigo Duterte’s repeated pronouncements that he will provide legal protection against police officers charged with being responsible for causing civilian deaths in the performance of their duties, it doesn’t provide the police with carte blanche authority to wage war against illegal drugs and suspects as they see fit.
If anything, the President’s imprimatur should motivate them to do better and conduct their anti-drug operations with an emphasis on bringing the masterminds to justice rather than leaving a trail of blood and dead bodies in nearly every raid and drug bust they conduct.
In the case of the Talisay City police, the mass relief of their police personnel after President Duterte’s scathing claim that its ranks are polluted with officers tied to illegal drugs won’t result in an overnight miracle.
In waging this war on illegal drugs, it may be the height of naivete to expect the new police officers in Talisay City police, who are comprised mostly of young officers, to follow due process owing to President Duterte’s inflammatory rhetoric that encourages the killing of drug suspects.
DebaclesBut let’s not close our doors to the possibility that maybe, just maybe, they can reduce if not eliminate the drug menace in Talisay and other parts of Cebu by cutting off the supply and market, rather than cutting short the lives of drug suspects.