bato dela rosa

Bam on PNP: May tinatago ba sila?

May tinatago ba sila?

Sen. Bam Aquino raised this question regarding the Philippine National Police (PNP) as he called on the organization to be transparent about its operations by showing spot reports to the Senate and to reporters.

  “Last hearing, Gen. Ronald Dela Rosa agreed that the PNP has nothing to hide kaya nagtataka tayo kung bakit ayaw ibigay ng ilang tauhan niya ang spot reports sa media,” said Sen. Bam.

Sen. Bam was referring to reports that members of media were not given access to spot reports, citing a new directive from Camp Crame.

“Kung wala silang tinatago, dapat nilang ipakita ang mga ito sa media,” said Sen. Bam, adding that journalists are responsible enough to handle confidential information contained in the spot reports.

In addition, Sen. Bam said the PNP’s directive to withhold spot reports from the media contradicts President Duterte’s push for transparency through the Freedom of Information (FOI) in government.

 Also, Sen. Bam expects Gen. Dela Rosa to comply with his earlier commitment that he will give senators a copy of the PNP’s spot reports, especially on cases of alleged extrajudicial killings and deaths outside police operations.

 “Itong spot reports, nagpapatunay kung meron talagang kababalaghan na nangyayari o wala kaya mahalaga na makuha namin iyan sa aming imbestigasyon. We still expect that the PNP will submit them to the Senate as promised,” Sen. Bam emphasized.

Earlier, Sen. Bam called on the government to suspend Oplan Double Barrel and rethink this bloody drug war, which has claimed thousands of lives since its implementation last year.

Sen. Bam: Give clear directive not to kill minors and unarmed suspects

Sen. Bam Aquino called on Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Ronald Dela Rosa to issue a clear and unequivocal directive to the police force not to kill unarmed suspects and to end the indiscriminate killing of minors. 

“A clear, definitive directive from the top na nagsasabing mali pumatay ng suspects na hindi nanlalaban, mahalaga iyon sa kapulisan,” said Sen. Bam after the hearing of the Committee on Public Order on the killing of Kian Delos Santos, who was killed during an anti-drug operation in Caloocan City.

 Police claimed that Kian fired at the policemen, forcing them to fight back. However, CCTV footage from the barangay showed that two policemen were seen dragging Kian to the alley where he was killed.

Another teenager, Carl Angelo Arnaiz, was killed by Caloocan City policemen after he allegedly robbed a taxi driver. However, forensic examinations showed that Arnaiz was handcuffed and was on his knees when he was shot two to three times in the chest.

By punishing policemen involved in the killing of Delos Santos and Arnaiz, Sen. Bam said it will send a strong signal that their unlawful acts will not be tolerated.

 “Kailangan bantayan ang mga kasong ito. The resolution of these two cases should send a clear signal to the rest of the police force that these unlawful acts will not be supported by the Senate or by the police hierarchy,” Sen. Bam stressed.

 “Maraming nakabantay sa mga kasong ito. Nakabantay talaga tayo kung magpapatuloy pa ang mga operations na ganito, kung may mamamatay pa ba. Gusto nating matigil na ang patayan,” added Sen Bam.

During the hearing, Sen. Bam asked Gen. Dela Rosa if there’s a pattern of killing in the PNP with the recent deaths of Delos Santos and Arnaiz.

 The top PNP official vehemently denied the existence of a pattern, saying the police have arrested 120,000 drug suspects alive.

  “The Senate is supportive of the war on drugs and arresting 120,000 criminals involved in drugs is appreciated, but killing of unarmed suspects is still a problem,” said Sen. Bam, adding that a clear directive from the top is a start.

Bam: Nasaan ang pera at sino ang nakinabang?

Where’s the money and who benefited from it?

 Sen. Bam Aquino wants these questions answered when the Senate resumes its hearing on the “tokhang for ransom” incident involving the kidnap-slay of a South Korean businessman on Thursday (Feb. 2).

“Hindi namin na-tackle iyan pero tatalakayin natin iyan sa next hearing. The committee should get to the bottom of this,” said Sen. Bam.

 Choi Kyung-jin, wife of South Korean businessman Ick-joo Jee, claimed she gave P5 million ransom to the kidnappers last October 31, 2016.

“There was a statement from the PNP na nagkabayaran sa mall pero hindi nila na-monitor kasi ginawa ng pamilya na hindi nagsabi sa kapulisan,” said Sen. Bam.

 Sen. Bam also urged Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa to also focus on weeding out the bad elements in the organization, saying they undermine the government’s war against illegal drugs.

 During the hearing, Dela Rosa mentioned that the PNP has 893 pending administrative cases against erring policemen while 228 were already resolved.

 “The PNP must focus on cleaning up their ranks even more than the drug war. If they don’t clean up, their efforts will be futile because more of these bad elements in the PNP will take advantage of the current landscape,” Sen. Bam said.

 Aside from being worrisome, Sen. Bam stressed that reports of abuses shakes the foundation of the administration’s war against illegal drugs.

 The lawmaker said punishing those involved in the kidnapping and murder of the South Korean will help restore the public trust on the PNP.

 “Sa kasong ito, malinaw na ang mga personalities involved. Ang kailangan na lang alamin ay ang accountabilities at actions. Baka kahit papano, with a speedy resolution, mabalik nang kaunti ang tiwala,” Sen. Bam pointed out.

 Meanwhile, Sen. Bam revealed that the wife of the slain South Korean will not leave the leaving the country until justice is served over the abduction and murder of her husband.

 During a talk with the widow, Sen. Bam said Choi Kyung-jin expressed intent in staying in the country until her husband’s murder is resolved.

“She said she will stay in the Philippines and wait until justice is served for her husband. Palagay ko po (I believe) we owe it to her… to come to the conclusion of this case as soon as possible,” Aquino said.

 

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