Interior Secretary Mar Roxas. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/JOAN BONDOC
MANILA, Philippines –After 44 policemen sacrificed their lives for the country, this happened?
A disgusted Interior Secretary Mar Roxas lashed at custodial officers of the Philippine National Police who allegedly accorded detained Senators Bong Revilla and Jinggoy Estrada special treatment.
“Itong mga nakaraang linggo, napag-usapan yung Mamasapano at sakripisyo ng mga pulis…At itong mga kaganapan na ganito, parang bastos o walang respeto sa tsapa at tungkulin,” Roxas lamented.
“May mga kasama tayo sa PNP na nagsakripisyo ng buhay. Ito babantayan lang at gagawin ang reglamento, mawawala pa sa landas.”
This was after Headquarters Support Service head Chief Superintendent Alberto Supapo and one police officer were sacked for allegedly allowing Revilla to join Senator Juan Ponce Enrile’s 91st birthday celebration at the PNP General Hospital last February 14.
The breach of the custodial rules was allegedly committed amid the outpouring of sympathies for the 150,000-strong police organization after it lost 44 of its Special Action Force commandos.
Could custodial officers have been pressured to yield to the senators’ wishes? If that was the case, Roxas said the officers should have asserted their authority.
“Pwede naman sabihin, pasensya na ho, trabaho lang ho. Walang masama dun. Bakit hindi yun ang nangyari? Masakit ang ulo nyo, mataas sa presyon, dalhin namin kayo sa doctor, dito ang ER. Bakit kung saan-saan pa nakarating?” the exasperated Secretary said.
Roxas also asked the detainees to follow strictly the rules and regulations of the detention facility.
He said detainees who will attempt to violate the rules would just put policemen in a bad light.
“Sumunod po tayo sa patakaran dahil ang nalalagay sa alanganin itong mga ordinaryong pulis. Yung mga careers nila nilalagay niyo sa panganib,” he said.
Revilla and Estrada have allegedly feigned illness to sneak in to Enrile’s birthday bash. Revilla and Estrada are detained at the PNP Custodial Center some 300 meters from the hospital.
Revilla complained of migraine and high blood pressure while Estrada said he was experiencing a headache. However, when the doctor checked Estrada’s condition, he said the senator was well.
A photograph showed Revilla sitting a few chairs from Enrile during the gathering. The photo was presented by the prosecutors before the Sandiganbayan.
Roxas said before Revilla went to the party, Estrada was the first to leave his detention cell for the party at 1:25 p.m. Revilla arrived there at 4 p.m.
This was the second time a custodial officer was fired since the detention of the three senators who were allegedly involved in the P10-billion pork barrel scam.
In July last year, chief of the custodial center Superintendent Mario Malana was sacked over the lavish party of Estrada with his family, friends and other personalities until the wee hours of the morning.