Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
Alarmed by the spate of killings of local officials in the country, Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III urged the Philippine National Police on Tuesday to go “all-out” against guns-for-hire and hit squads.
“The killings of local officials happening all over the country is alarming,” Pimentel, president of the ruling PDP-Laban, said in a statement.
PDP-Laban is currently being chaired by President Rodrigo Duterte.
“These are surely election-related and if the PNP does not go all-out against these lawless elements, how can we have a free, orderly, honest, peaceful, and credible elections?” Pimentel asked.
The senator noted that PNP Chief Oscar Albayalde has already ordered a crackdown on guns-for-hire and private armed groups since July this year, following the series of killings of local officials in the country.
And while he agrees with the current intensified and relentless operations against these guns-for-hire groups and private armed groups, especially now that the 2019 election is fast approaching, Pimentel reiterated that these should be part of the PNP’s regular operations to effectively promote law and order in the entire country.
“The PNP must show that it is serious in this endeavour. The PNP must disarm these guns-for-hire and hit squads and timely file cases against them with sufficient evidence,” he said.
The police, he said, must also improve on their investigation skills so that everyone with links to these syndicates could be brought to the bar of justice.
“And if the investigation shows that those among their ranks are involved in these illegal activities, then the PNP must purge their ranks of these rotten eggs,” the senator said.
Pimentel, who is also a lawyer, pointed out that under the revised penal code, those who employ guns-for-hire are ‘actually principals in the crime and their liability is the same or as serious as the gunman.” /jpv