“ABSURD” was how Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña described the police’s “accidental firing” claim on how SPO1 Roderick Balili died. The cause of Balili’s death has remained a mystery even as he was suspected to have been the one shot by Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) agent Von Rian Tecson, who was attacked and killed by unidentified assailants.
Osmeña, in his press conference, said: “In the first place, why should your pistol be handed to you in the car? That’s absurd. If you have the pistol, you carry your pistol. You don’t have a yaya carrying the pistol for you and in the car, hand the pistol to you and then you will have this weird incident where you shot yourself three times. My God, that’s the wildest imagination.”
Mayor Tomas even dared Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 Chief Debold Sinas to release the autopsy report on Balili and produce the car or vehicle where Balili was allegedly shot in an “accidental firing” when the driver handed to him his handgun.
“That’s not accidental firing. That’s ridiculous. That just proved that the policemen are involved. And he was not shot twice, he was shot thrice, one in the arm and two in the body, and that came from someone inside the operating room,” Osmeña was quoted by this newspaper.
While I am not a fan of Mayor Tomas, I can understand his displeasure with the local police over the unsolved killings in the city and in other places in Cebu, considered the country’s premiere province. The killings could affect Cebu’s tourism industry.
I pity members of Balili’s bereaved family. They have to endure not only the horrible stories about him, but also the loss of a father, husband and breadwinner. But that’s life. I remember a line in my elementary science class that states, “all living things die.”
Mayor Tomas, as the executive of this Queen City of the South, has the obligation to ensure the safety of his constituents as well as the tourists (the police are also sworn to protect and preserve the lives and limbs, as well as the property, of the people).
While there are suspicions that some policemen have turned “hitmen,” I beg to disagree with these unless and until these are proven with certainty or beyond reasonable doubt.
Being raised by a father who served our small town as a patrolman with unblemished record until he retired, I still believe that good men still abound in the police service, people who have pure heart to serve and protect his fellowmen.
Admittedly, there are scalawags in the Philippine National Police just like in any other organization where the number of members have become unwieldy to manage. President Duterte already dismissed from the service several policemen who were not fit for the job. Others were just stiffly warned of dire consequences.
Mayor Tomas may have basis in asking General Sinas to produce the autopsy report on Balili. The police regional chief should either accept the challenge or just keep mum about it.
But the police’s silence could be misunderstood that what Mayor Tomas said could be true. This would lead us to the question, who is telling the truth?