Senate President Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri speaks during the plenary hearing on PNP’s proposed 2024 budget on November 17, 2023. (Photo screengrabbed from YouTube account of Senate)
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police (PNP) admitted before the Senate on Friday that the brazen killings in the country are a “slap in their faces.”
PNP chief General Benjamin Acorda Jr. made the confession after senators condemned the recent spate of killings.
“According to the PNP chief, they take these incidents as a slap in their faces and they resolve to work double time,” said Senator Sonny Angara, who was defending PNP’s budget on the Senate floor.
Senator Sonny Angara, chairperson of the Senate finance committee, defends the proposed budget for the Philippine National Police during the plenary session on Friday, November 17, 2023. (Photo from Joseph Vidal/Senate PRIB)
The current state of criminality was brought up by Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel during the deliberations.
Responding to Pimentel’s questions, PNP, through Angara, reported the crimes recorded this year “seem to be down” nationwide, except for homicide.
“Pero yan ang pinaka-grabe, homicide. Patayan yan e! That’s giving us a black eye in the international community,” Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri lamented.
(But that’s the worst, homicide. Those are killings! That’s giving us a black eye in the international community.)
Zubiri cited as an example the case of radio broadcaster Juan Jumalon, who was shot dead this month while on air from his home in Misamis Occidental.
Another case is the fatal shooting of a woman and her live-in partner while on a bus in transit to Carranglan, Nueva Ecija, on Wednesday afternoon, the Senate leader noted.
The incident was caught on video, and it circulated on social media.
“I saw the video itself, and I said, ‘Oh my goodness! Parang baboy lang.’ Pinatay na parang baboy…” Zubiri said.
(I saw the video and said, ‘Oh my goodness! Just like a pig.’ Killed just like pigs…)
Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva agreed with the Senate leader.
“We call it isolated incidents, but unfortunately, it’s all over the world. It’s online, the act and the brazen killing in front of everyone. This has never happened before,” Villanueva said.
He then urged the PNP to act on these executions seriously.
“If we can’t do something about it, it speaks [volumes] of who we really are as Filipinos,” he said.
“Sino tayo bilang isang bansa? Kaya we need to act on this seriously,” he told law enforcers.
(Who are we as a country? That is why we need to act on this seriously.)
“And if we have to put in all our resources to solve (these cases)… at ipakita natin sa mundo (let us show the world) that we condemn these acts and we’re not going to tolerate such actions,” Villanueva said.