Poe calls for an end to ‘unsettling, terrifying’ killings

Senator Grace Poe on Thursday called for an end to what she described as “unsettling” and “terrifying” spate of killings in the country.

On Thursday, Poe said she was also saddened that the war on drugs was being used as a “smokescreen for political killings.”

A number of local officials were recently gunned down, including Tananuan City Mayor Antonio Halili, who was linked to illegal drugs by no less than President Rodrigo Duterte.

“It’s unsettling and terrifying when you think about it,” Poe said when asked, in an interview over ABS-CBN News Channel, to comment on the killings.

“Remember, one unsolved killing begets another. And if there are no arrests, there’s no deterrence, and if in the US or other countries, you have primaries, in the Philippines, it seems there’s the killings before the elections.

“And the sad thing is, I think that the war on drugs is being used as a smokescreen for political killings,” she said.

Whatever the reason is, Poe stressed that “murder is murder.”

“So you don’t want to have a state of lawlessness; definitely this has to stop…” she said.

While the government might be succeeding in its war on drugs, the senator said it must also try to put an end to other forms of violence in the country.

“There’s a breakdown on the enforcement of the PNP (Philippine National Police), absolutely,” Poe lamented.

“I like General Albayalde; I think he’s a credible man,” she said of PNP Chief Dir. Gen. Oscar D. Albayalde.

“On the other hand, the PNP is a huge institution. I think they have to get the message that you have to solve these killings; otherwise, your effectivity is diminished,” the senator added. /je