Artist Sketch – suspect in Dominic Sytin’s murder. CENTRAL LUZON POLICE
Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Director General Oscar Albayalde defended Monday their composite sketch of the suspect in the killing last week of businessman Dominic Sytin in Subic Bay Freeport.
The sketch released by the Central Luzon Police last Friday earned criticisms on social media, with some netizens poking fun at the illustration since it had the gunman’s face almost entirely covered by a mask and a cap.
READ: PNP releases artist’s sketch of gunman in businessman’s slay
But Albayalde said the police only based the drawing from the testimony of a witness to the incident.
“Unang-una iyon ang kita eh. We cannot invent a face. Iyon talaga ang suot niya kasi eh. Hindi natin pwedeng [baguhin], ganoon ang pagka-describe niya (witness). Baka hindi niya tinanggal iyan (mask and cap) all the way,” he said in a press briefing.
(First of all, that’s what was seen. We cannot invent a face. That’s what he really wore. We cannot change it, that’s how the witness described it. Maybe he did not remove the mask and the cap all the way.)
Albayalde said it would be worse for the police to invent a face for a composite sketch.
“This person is wearing a mask, so how can we paint an artist sketch na gagawa na lang ng kung anu-anong itsura? Mali naman siguro iyon (that we will just draw the face of anyone. I think that’s wrong),” he also said.
Albayalde noted the most important part of the sketch is the suspect’s eyes, saying the eyes are a facial feature that makes most people identifiable.
“Most probably kasi tayo na-re-recognize tayo sa mata kahit na half of our face is covered. Iyan ang hinahabol natin,” he said.
(Most probably we can be recognized for our eyes even if half of our face is covered. That’s what we are looking for.) /kga