Police Chief Dir. Gen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa and DILG acting secretary Catalino Cuy give senators a briefing on the law and order situation in the country. Photo courtesy of Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel II’s office.
(Updated, 4:45 p.m.) Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa and acting Interior Secretary Catalino Cuy went to the office of Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel II to brief the senators about the law and order situation nationwide, particularly in war-torn Marawi City, on Tuesday.
Dela Rosa and Cuy arrived at Pimentel’s office shortly before 2 p.m. The closed-door meeting lasted for almost two hours.
Aside from Pimentel, other senators present in the briefing are Senators Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan, Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito and Sherwin Gatchalian.
In an ambush interview before the briefing, Pimentel said it was Cuy who requested “for an opportunity to brief (him) about the Marawi law and order situation.”
“I’ll take advantage of this meeting to ask about some law and order issues nationwide; nagtataasan ba ‘yung mga patayan diyan, anong nang nangyayari (Is the death toll rising, what is happening),” Pimentel said.
“Tatanungin ko sila kung ano ba itong unsolved crimes (I will ask them what these unsolved crimes are)? What (is) the nature of the unsolved crimes, is it difficult to solve?” he added.
When asked earlier to assess President Rodrigo Duterte’s first year in office, the Senate president expressed concern over the rise in the killings.
Pimentel said the PNP leadership should address the delay in solving thousands of murder and homicide cases since the drug war started in July last year.
In a Twitter post, Ejercito shared photos of the meeting and said the Senate will be working to strengthen the anti-terrorism capability of the PNP in the coming budget season.
Will be working to strengthen the anti-terrorism capability of the PNP this coming budget season. Terrorism is a worldwide problem. https://t.co/th2jeTlzwv
— JV Ejercito (@jvejercito) July 11, 2017
The senators will also call for a security briefing from police and military officials to discuss the situation in Marawi City before the 60-day martial law period lapses on July 22.
The briefing might be scheduled any time this week, said Pimentel. IDL