Sen. Grace Poe has a gentle reminder to Philippine National Police chief Director General Ronald “Bato” de la Rosa: “Ang kapangyarihan ay nakakalinlang (Power can be deceiving).”
Poe gave De la Rosa this unsolicited advice on Wednesday during the Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum as she lamented the reported extrajudicial killings amid the government’s intensified campaign against illegal drugs.
“With summary killings and extrajudicial killings, ang nangyayari, it’s almost as if we allowed the death penalty but without the people having the chance to defend themselves. So it’s actually double whammy. It’s worse,” she said.
“Some people who are impatient will probably say, ‘pampagulo lang kayo,’ but we need that. And trust me, kapag nawala iyan, mas nakakatakot also for us …” she added.
While she praised De la Rosa for being an “effective spokesperson,” Poe expressed hopes that the PNP chief would use his communication skills to explain to the people what they were doing.
“Importanteng naiintindihan ng tao kung anong ginagawa nila, nakasalalay sa balikat nila iyan,” she said.
“Pero sabi ko nga paalala din, ang kapangyarihan ay nakakalinlang. Minsan, kapag sobra ka nang makapangyarihan, nakakalimutan mo na ang kapangyarihan, ginagamit, mas madalas, para depensahan ang mga walang laban.”
While she supported the reimposition of the death penalty for heinous crimes, the senator pointed out the need to strengthen and reform the judiciary first.
“May program na ngayon on antidrugs, pwede bang mag-intay muna tayo kung magiging effective ito, baka naman hindi kailangan ng death penalty kundi reinforcement lang ang kailangan,” Poe said.
“Pero, once it becomes apparent that this is the priority and it will be pushed, I would like to see the safeguards.”
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