THE lure of easy money obtained through illegal means such as the possession of, distribution and sale of dangerous drugs particularly “shabu” (methamphetamine hydrochloride) has claimed another victim, this time a high ranking officer of the Philippine National Police (PNP) who is on President Rodrigo Duterte’s “narco-list”.
Whatever anybody might say the plain and simple truth is that the appeal of making so much money out of the sale of small packets of the shabu has led so many of our countrymen into the path of perdition.
The recent death of police superintendent Santiago Ylanan Rapiz, logistics chief of the Zamboanga Del Norte police, reveals that even agents of the government and those supposedly involved in the campaign to rid the country of prohibited drugs are not themselves immune to the poison of illegal drugs.
But what is more disturbing is that despite the fact that police superintendent Rapiz has already been identified as either a protector or a distributor of shabu and thus included in the narcolist of the president he continued to enjoy, up to the time of his being killed by undercover agents from the PNP Counter-Intelligence Task Force (CITF) and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), the perks and benefits of his office as well as possibly going to work regularly as a cop.
There is a clear and present danger posed to the public when a suspected police scalawag is allowed to continue interacting with the ordinary citizens considering the influence and authority that can be exerted to either coerce, co-opt, or worse manipulate ordinary individuals seeking the assistance of a government office.
From a practical and logical point of view the government might have to consider putting under preventive suspension or restrictive custody those agents in authority such as policemen already identified and included in a validated narco-list instead of still allowing them the freedom of movement and interaction with the public.
For all intents and purposes the late superintendent Rapiz might have used his office to advance his interests in the illegal operation of shabu.
While we follow the legal dictum that one is innocent until proven otherwise the gravity of the offense as well as the nature of the office involved should be carefully considered and weighed in determining whether a government agent suspected of being involved in illegal drugs should be allowed to continue in office or pending the determination of his liability or guilt.
The public must be protected at all times and the government must do its utmost to guarantee that there is no whiff or scent of misdeed or illegality in the daily work of the authorities especially the members of the PNP who are supposed to have sworn to protect the lives and property of the people.