Bato: Justice for slain kids

CAMP DANGWA, La Trinidad, Benguet—The Philippine National Police chief on Friday vowed to work for justice for the children who had been killed in President Duterte’s brutal war on drugs.

“We do not want innocent lives to go to waste,” the PNP chief, Director General Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, told reporters here after leading the burning of marijuana seized in Kalinga province.

Dela Rosa was referring to 5-year-old Danica Mae Garcia of Dagupan City, who was killed by an assassin’s bullet intended for her grandfather, a drug suspect, on Aug. 23.

READ: 5-yr-old fatality in drug war buried

On Tuesday, 4-year-old Althea Fhem Barbon was hit by a bullet that police fired at her father, drug suspect Aldrick Barbon, during a chase in Guihulngan City, Negros Occidental province.

Barbon was driving his motorcycle, with the girl sitting in front, when police fired. The bullet hit Barbon in the back, overpenetrated and hit the girl in the back.

Barbon, No. 5 on the police drug list, died in a hospital in Guihulngan.

The girl died in a hospital in Dumaguete City on Thursday.

Jess Cañete, special investigator and chief of the Commission on Human Rights in Negros Oriental province, said Barbon did not use his daughter as a “human shield,” as claimed by the police.

He said the two undercover police officers who posed as drug buyers did not see the girl when Barbon met with them for a sale.

Barbon later sensed that the two men were cops and allegedly whipped out a .38-cal. revolver but it did not go off when he pulled the trigger.

He fled on his motorcycle, chased and shot at by the two policemen who rode tandem on a motorcycle, Cañete said.

It was only after Barbon had been hit and had fallen that the cops saw the girl, he said.

4 teeners killed

In Ormoc City, the bullet-riddled bodies of four teenagers, one of them a girl, were found on Friday. They were believed to be victims of summary executions, as their hands were tied at the back and they had been shot to the head and body.

Of the four, only one was identified—Jason Carillo, 16, a resident of Barangay San Jose in Ormoc. His body was found in Barangay Sumangga together with the body of another male teenager.

The bodies of the girl and another boy, both of whom were about 17, were found in Barangay Salvacion.

Police found casings for .45-cal. bullets and the slug of a bullet of unknown caliber on the scene.

Gemma Garcia, Danica’s grandmother, said the drug war had put her family at risk. She said she had been seeking assurance from the police that the innocents would be protected.

Under investigation

“What happened [to these children] would be revealed in our investigations. We will not ignore their cases,” Dela Rosa said.

He said the government was waging a war on drugs to protect the innocents, particularly young men and women who had been lured into drugs.

He said the government was targeting 1.8 million drug abusers.

“Drugs have destroyed too many lives,” Dela Rosa said, explaining the PNP’s aggressive campaign against drug users and pushers.

The police would be effective in the campaign “if we win the war within our ranks,” he said. “It pains us that there are police officers who are drug lords, coddlers and protectors. But we have to face reality. We need to correct their wrongdoings.”

As President Duterte had promised to rid the country of drugs within six months, Dela Rosa reminded local police commanders that they have four months left to stop drug trafficking in their communities.

“On Jan. 1 next year, I will have to report to the President what we have accomplished. I am ready to step down if we do not meet that target,” he said.

Validating watch lists

But he said police had also been careful about their investigations, spending time and resources to validate drug watch lists provided by village leaders.

“This is because we need to make sure people on the lists are not just enemies of the village leaders,” he said, adding that he had received complaints from various provinces.

Martin Waling, 80, a farmer, and Ricardo Mayumi, chair of Hohlukan Indigenous Farmers Organization (Hifo), were on the list compiled by village leaders in Tinoc, Ifugao province.

“The inclusion of active members of people’s organizations in the drug list seems to be a new form of threat and harassment of state security forces against activists,” said Nestor Peralta of the Ifugao Peasant Movement (IPM).

“How do the police verify the list? If you are on the list, does it mean you are already a suspect, that there is already evidence against you? And when you clear your name, does it mean you already have a police record?” said Ifugao Rep. Teodoro Baguilat Jr., who was informed that one of his employees was on the Tinoc list.

Dela Rosa said the watch lists were “not kill lists” but guides to police in identifying people involved in drugs. With reports from Irma Faith Pal and Robert Dejon, Inquirer Visayas/TVJ

 

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