Thursday, November 13, 2008 Editorials: Killing of motorcycle-riding men
IT would be a stretch to expect anything from any investigation into the All Saints’ Day killing involving members of Task Force Motorsiklo of the Cebu City Police Office and three motorcycle-riding men who reportedly evaded a checkpoint.
Investigations, even one involving the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), have not gone anywhere in the recent past if these concern law enforcers and rules of engagement.
Besides, it later turned out that in the All Saints’ Day incident, two of the three killed had served time in jail, something that in the current setup could be taken to mean their relatives have lost the right to seek justice for their deaths.
Consider the previous series of vigilante-style killings wherein both public opinion and the fear of the victims’ relatives have hampered the investigations supposedly conducted by the homicide section of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO).
Then there is the usual presumption of propriety in the conduct by law enforcers of a legitimate operation, meaning, the
burden of proof of any claims of irregularity is with the relatives of those killed.
Concerns
But it is good that some sectors have expressed concerns over the incident and raised a howl that, though low in decibel, elicited reaction from the CCPO and the CHR.
While the problem of crimes perpetrated by motorcycle-riding criminals needs to be addressed by the local government and law enforcers, that must not be done at the expense of basic rights.
There is as yet no signs, of course, that the newly created task force has committed excesses, but the worry that suspected criminals might end up being killed on sight even if they have not done anything wrong is legitimate.
Reminder
The howl raised after the All Saints’ Day killing should therefore serve as a reminder to Task Force Motorsiklo that the aggressiveness of their operation should be tempered by respect for people’s basic rights and the rules of engagement.
That reminder is not meant to tie their hands but is instead meant to make their jobs less prone to abuse and controversy and therefore more effective.
There is no reason, then, to fret about the reaction of some sectors over the killing.
