‘Sumosobra ang bait’: Sotto seeks retraining for HPT officers after Cavite shooting

MANILA, Philippines — Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Tuesday called for better training for the police’s anti-carnapping task force after a highway patrol officer was shot dead following a routine check of a vehicle with no license plate.

“I expect better training for the anti-carnapping task force,” Sotto said during the plenary deliberations on the budget of the Philippine National Police (PNP).

“Dapat io-orient natin yung mga police natin lagi na, oo, magalang tayo, pero pagdating sa… you are serving the law… Dapat medyo forceful ka,” he added.

(We should regularly orient our police that, yes, we should be polite but when you are serving the law, you should be a little bit forceful.)

Before this, Sotto showed a video of the shooting that occurred in Cavite earlier this month.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III, during the Senate budget debates on Tuesday (Nov. 17, 2020), presents video footage on the Nov. 6 Cavite shooting that led to the killing of a highway patrol officer. Screengrab from Senate Youtube livestream

The video showed two members of the Cavite Highway Patrol Team (HPT) stopping a sports utility vehicle (SUV) with no license plate and conduction sticker. The driver refused to hand over his license when asked by the officers.

The driver also appeared to pull his car window up in front of the officer without giving his license. In a separate video presented by Sotto, a shooting ensued which then led to the death of one HPT officer and an occupant of the SUV.

“There are protocols that should have been followed. I understand dapat daw kasi magalang. Correct, especially if traffic violation lang,” Sotto said after he played the videos.

(There are protocols that should have been followed. I understand that they needed to be polite. Correct, especially if it’s only a traffic violation.)

“Pero mali e because walang plate number, walang conduction sticker ayaw magbigay ng lisensya, ng ID. Dapat dun, arestado antimano. E sa Amerika ‘yan ‘Step out of the vehicle’ at tututukan ng baril ‘yan,” he added.

(But this is wrong, the vehicle had no plate number, no conduction sticker, and the driver is refusing to give his license, his ID. The officers should have been arrested immediately. In America, officers would already ask the driver to ‘Step out of the vehicle’ and will even point a gun.)

He said the officers should have arrested the driver of the SUV immediately after he refused to give his license.

“Dito satin sumusobra ang bait natin kung minsan. Okay yung mabait ka pero pag kriminal na yung kausap mo, hindi pwedeng mabait,” Sotto said.

(Here we are being too kind sometimes. It’s okay to be polite but if you’re talking to a criminal, you should no longer be kind.)

“Dapat yun kung ayaw magbigay ng lisensya, ayaw magbigay ng ID, under arrest na kaagad or detained… Anti-carnapping ito e, hindi naman ito traffic stop e,” he added.

(If the driver refuses to give his license and ID, he should’ve been under arrest or at least detained…This is a possible violation of the anti-carnapping law. This is not a mere traffic stop.)

Sotto then asked if the protocols were followed by the officer in the said incident  “to ensure their safety in the performance of their duty.”

Senator Sonny Angara, who was defending the police force’s budget, said the PNP admitted that there could’ve been an improved protocol.

While the HPT officers followed the protocols in stopping the vehicle, the action of the driver in putting up his window while he was being confronted by the personnel should have been treated as a “hostile act.”

“They should have made the corresponding action,” said Angara.

The senator, meanwhile, said the PNP does have training for its personnel through the Police Information and Continuing Education (PICE) program, which receives allocation from the PNP’s regular budget.

EDV