Thursday, June 28, 2007 Editorials: Corrupt law enforcers
THE claim by a businessman that operatives of Traffic Management Group-National Capital Region (TMG-NCR) extorted money from him is serious.
But unless investigators can find ways to goad the businessman into executing a sworn statement and pursue the case, the allegation will have a short life span.
That can be either good or bad for the TMG-NCR operatives.
If they are guilty as charged, then they have scraped through a money-making venture in Cebu with but a minor scratch, although the modus has been exposed.
If they are innocent, then the allegation will unfairly hound them for a time.
Concern
The businessman’s present stance, though, is understandable, considering his social standing and the kind of people he is up against, if his allegation is true.
But the incident that he described should cause concerns not only because of the nightmare he went through but also because it could happen to other people.
When lawmen flashing guns arrest you for trumped up violations, bring you to a place against your will and extort money from you---that is one terrifying experience.
Rumors
What happened to the businessman, of course, is not isolated and rumors have swirled about other similar money-making ventures by local law enforcers and outsiders.
But the incident would have offered one rare chance of catching the alleged perpetrators and at least making the case serve as a warning for corrupt law enforcers.
To be fair, a TMG official has denied the businessman’s claim and the refusal of the latter to pursue his case may work in the TMG’s favor.
All the talk about the alleged extortion incident has started to die down.
Consolation
The only hope for well-meaning sectors now is if the Police Regional Office 7 will pick up what investigators of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) has started.
CCPO has described its work in the case as a mere fact-finding inquiry.
The bigger chance, however, is that without the cooperation of the businessman, top police officials can’t move further, or pretend they can’t.
Still, there’s one consolation: the media interest the incident generated could momentarily halt this type of operation by corrupt lawmen---if it does exist.
