“There was coordination” was the firm and unhesitating declaration of both the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) heads. But how can they say that in the face of the fact of the mis-encounter that killed four people?
In scholastic philosophy there is a saying that in English translates to “There is no valid argument against a fact.” And the mis-encounter is a fact which proves that there was no coordination at all.
Hence, the only question left that needs a good and credible answer is why there was no coordination? Was it an honest mistake, an inadvertent slip or was there something more sinister behind the failure to coordinate?
If that is the question, and I cannot see what else it should be, then President Duterte is wise to order that only the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) should probe the mis-encounter and the lack of coordination that led to it.
The question cannot be probed by a joint panel of PNP and PDEA investigators as that would obviously be self-serving. It was insulting to Filipinos to form that joint panel and at the same time claim there will be no whitewash. If they want no whitewash, they should refrain from doing their own investigation and let an independent body do it.
How can a joint panel come up with credible findings? How can they avoid being suspected of looking for ways of getting their respective sides off the hook? It was insulting to the intelligence and sense of fair play of Filipinos to even suggest that a joint panel should probe the incident.
It’s also a good thing that both houses of Congress have suspended their respective probes in deference to the President’s order to have the NBI alone conduct the official probe. Congressional probes are at best in aid of legislation, at worst in aid of grandstanding. Both houses of congress will, therefore, save a lot of people’s money if, instead of conducting their own probes, they just wait to verify the findings of official investigative government agencies.
Actually, the NBI is another law enforcement agency that is not without its own checkered history. Thus, the NBI cannot be considered offhand as a neutral body. But the NBI is the nation’s official investigative bureau and should, therefore, be given first crack at probing the unfortunate incident. Like I said, its findings can always be verified by a higher body.
Again, the mis-encounter is proof there was no coordination between PNP and PDEA. The bottom-line question, therefore, is why there was no coordination. Was it an honest mistake or was there ill motive behind the failure to coordinate?
One official NBI probe would best answer it, not the probes galore we’ve been used to but which fortunately the President has stopped. We cannot continue allowing too many cooks to spoil the brew.