MANILA— “The Filipino people deserve a modern, professional, and capable police force. Right now, the PNP (Philippine National Police) is none of the above.”
Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III made this statement Thursday, expressing disappointment over the “incompetence of the PNP” in catching criminals.
Pimentel, a staunch ally of President Rodrigo Duterte, cited the recent killing of Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro councilor, Melchor Arago, and his 15-year-old son by unidentified gunmen on Tuesday.
He also described the growing number of unsolved deaths under investigation as “unacceptable”.
“One homicide is one unnecessary death too many. Add the large number of unsolved killings, made worse by some of the victims being minors, and you start wondering what the police is there for,” Pimentel said.
“We need to take radical action to change this state of affairs,” he added, asking the PNP to shape up.
Where’s peace and order?
Pimentel further questioned the PNP’s efforts to maintain peace and order.
“This is yet another murder by the now usual modus operandi of motorcycle-riding gunmen. Where is the peace and order that [PNP Chief] dela Rosa says the people are ungrateful for?” Pimentel said.
It may be recalled that PNP Chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa previously called critics of the drug war as “ingrates”.
According to Pimentel, police should have the proper training and tools to carry out President Duterte’s campaign against illegal drugs.
Data from the PNP showed that there were 6,225 drug-related deaths between July 2016 and September 2017.
These deaths were broken down into 2,290 drug-related deaths or homicide cases under investigation, 3,850 deaths during police operations, and 85 police or military personnel killed in action.