ON TARGET
How ‘salvaging’ started
By Ramon TulfoPhilippine Daily Inquirer
Whether murder suspect Nestor Delizalde Jr. was shot by a policeman—he allegedly grappled with the law enforcer to get the latter’s gun—or he shot himself while in police custody, who cares?
The guy was reported to have mercilessly slit the throats of three women and didn’t show any remorse for his crime.
Delizalde’s victims—Evelyn Tan, 40, a bank executive; her mother, Teresa, 60, and their housemaid Cristina Partolay, 22—were found dead in their home on Yakal Street, Sta. Cruz, Manila, before dawn on Nov. 12.
What made Delizalde’s crime even worse was that he was a barangay tanod (village watchman) who was sworn to protect the people in his barangay.
Criminals like Delizalde who rob, kill or rape innocent citizens without mercy probably deserve the same fate as their victims.
* * *
A decade ago, a man was arrested while hiding in Davao City after he massacred a family of five in Antipolo, Rizal province.
Brought before then City Mayor Rody Duterte, the suspect said he was not sorry for butchering the family.
As he was being brought to the city police station, he was shot in the head by one of his police escorts at the steps of City Hall.
Nobody in the city raised a howl of protest over the apparent execution of the crime suspect.
Davao City residents knew that the guy was executed to protect society, in general, and them, in particular, from criminal elements like that Antipolo mass murderer.
* * *
“Salvaging,” or the summary execution of notorious criminals by policemen, is not a Filipino invention.
The Manila Police Department (MPD) copied the practice from the New York Police Department (NYPD) many years ago.
The tradition in the NYPD at the time—I wonder if they are still doing it now—was for a man who killed a New York City cop to be buried ahead of his policeman-victim.
During the time of Manila Mayor Arsenio Lacson, a policeman in his city who died in the line of duty was accorded a hero’s burial—the same way a fallen NYPD member was honored—while his comrades-in-arms raced against time so the killer could be killed before he was interred.
* * *
In the untold annals of the MPD, a Manila cop was killed during a robbery at the Motor Vehicles Office (MVO), precursor of the Land Transportation Office.
A suspect named Pagsibigan was taken in custody by a team led by then Sgt. Alfredo Lim, now Manila’s mayor.
Pagsibigan was later found dead, with his throat slit, at the Luneta, still a grassy and unlighted area at that time.
People in Manila at that time didn’t care who killed the cop-killer.
They were happy that a notorious criminal disappeared from their midst.
* * *
Vice President Jojo Binay says there is nothing wrong with having a political dynasty as long as members of a family holding elective positions are qualified.
His daughter, Nancy Binay, is running for senator in the 2013 elections.
Nancy, who has not held any elective position, is the tagapag-alaga (caregiver) of her mother, former Makati Mayor Elenita Binay.
When Nancy gets elected—which is certain, given her father’s popularity—she will be the first caregiver to become senator.
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Tags: Nestor Delizalde Jr. , Rody Duterte
