Thursday, March 01, 2007
Seares: Vigilantes ‘no longer exist’
By Pachico A. Seares
News Sense
CEBU City police chief Pat Comendador was quoted as saying that "as far as our information is concerned," there are no more vigilantes.
I don't know how far police info goes but, recall, they were totally unable to solve more than 170 murders, execution style, since Dec. 22, 2004. They aren't exactly the people you trust about vigilantes.
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Some people think the police are dumb. They are not, at least not so dumb as to be clueless about murders done right under their noses.
Months ago, as the bodies piled up, a high-ranked police officer told me and two columnists, "Lock up all the cops before 5 p.m. and there will be no more killings."
Was he drunk or dishing out b.s. to skeptics fed up with collapse of law and order? "No, really," he said in our faces, "would you like the executions to stop for five days...one week?" Get out of here, I said, which the cop took literally.
Not over yet
Then the killings stopped. They say it must have been Asean summit, Christmas, Sto. Niño fiesta, pangs of conscience, or Mayor Tomas' spat with Governor Gwen. Any, some, or all of the above.
Now police tell us that vigilantes no longer exist.
Does that mean assassins left with their hoods, guns, and motorcycles? Or are they back, full-time, to their job of being cops or playing cops?
No, it's not over till it's over.
Let's wait for the days when police actually catch the murderers.
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (March 1, 2007 issue)
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