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Thursday, November 10, 2005
Stop killings: Councilors to cops
By Rene H. Martel
With Jovy S. Taghoy & Linette C. Ramos
CEBU CITY -- In an "outcry" condemning the vigilante attacks, the Cebu City Council declared Wednesday it will "call for a major change" in the local police leadership if that is needed to solve the killings.
Otherwise, Councilor Procopio Fernandez said, Cebu City "will continue to bear its new tag as "Murder City."
Fernandez, in a privilege speech, said that if the police and other law enforcement agencies cannot address the situation, the council could conclude that authorities are "either poor in their performance or are condoning the killings."
"We are only talking here of common crimes, and yet our police force are facing a blank wall on how to solve them. What about terrorist attacks? God forbid, (but) are we ready to contain them?"
The council, after Fernandez's speech, resolved to meet regional and city police officials in an executive session for them to apprise and to explain to council members the real state of the city's peace and order.
It also asked the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) 7 to submit a progress report on its investigation into the vigilante killings, which has claimed 102 lives as of last Monday.
Unfazed
The Cebu Archdiocese, the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) Cebu City chapter, the Commission on Human Rights and other sectors have condemned the summary executions, which started on Dec. 22 last year.
Mayor Tomas Osmeña, however, seemed unfazed by a possible lawsuit in relation to the series of killings.
Osmeña admitted he cares about the IBP's move against him, but he won't let threats of a lawsuit influence his decisions, particularly on peace and order concerns.
"Their time is free and me, I have to hire a lawyer and it's not free. Of course I care about their filing of a case but I can't allow that to influence my decisions," the mayor said in a news conference Wednesday.
For his part, Acting Cebu City Police Director Melvin Gayotin said it is within the IBP's right to file a case against the police.
He is confident they will be exonerated because "we are not negligent of our job."
No leads
The Cebu City police, though, have no witnesses or complainants to give them leads to pursue.
Antonio Medina, 25, who became the 102nd victim last Monday, was even shot a few meters from the Mobile Patrol Group headquarters on Arellano Blvd., and it took some time for the police to respond.
However, the police has some leads on the shooting last Sunday night on Magallanes St., which was also listed as a vigilante attack.
Inspector Mario Monilar, chief of the Homicide Section, said they have come up with cartographic sketches of two men who may have carried out the killing of spouses Zacarias and Esterlita Flores, both 55 years old.
The sketches of the two men were based on the descriptions given by the spouses' youngest daughter Geraldine.
The gunmen were seen wearing black helmets covered with white cloth. They shot the couple who just got inside their Mitsubishi Pajero about 8:30 p.m.
The attack also killed the Flores' driver Giovanni Renquezo, 28.
They victims died of multiple gunshot wounds in the head and body.
Image
The Flores family has implicated a former neighbor in the fatal shooting, but the police are also looking into the possibility that the killing was drug-related.
The Flores couple was included in the 1997 drug expose of Cebu City Representative Antonio Cuenco.
What worries Councilor Fernandez is that the "murder city" tag will stick and drive away tourists and hurt the city's economy.
It also does not bode well for a city that is trying to build its image as a premier destination, he said.
"How inconsiderate of the people who are duty-bound to keep peace in the city. Their irresponsibility is hurting our tourism industry in which the government has been investing millions," Fernandez said in his speech.
He also said that the police's lack of resources and mobility and the absence of complainants and witnesses are "simply lame excuses." (Sun.Star Cebu/Sunnex)
(November 10, 2005 issue)
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