HUMAN rights group Karapatan on Sunday, June 10, slammed the recent promotion of two police officers allegedly involved in extra-judicial killings in Caloocan City amid the government's war on drugs.
Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay said the promotion of Senior Superintendent Chito Bersaluna and Chief Superintendent Roberto Fajardo is a "clear indications of the worsening climate of impunity in the country."
She said it also proves how President Rodrigo Duterte rewards the most avid implementers of his "murderous war on drugs."
Bersaluna, the former Caloocan City Police Office chief and Fajardo, the former director of the Northern Police District were both sacked in 2017 following the killing of 17-year-old Kian delos Santos who they claimed to be involved in illegal drugs transactions in the area.
A week ago, Bersaluna was appointed by Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Oscar Albayalde as the new Bulacan Provincial Police chief while Fajardo took office as the new head of the PNP Highway Patrol Group.
Police said Delos Santos fought it out against the authorities which prompted them to kill him.
However, police's claims were far from the closed-circuit television (CCTV) footages which captured what really happened to Delos Santos.
The statement of the witnesses also matches to the CCTV footages which shows that there was no shootout and that Delos Santos was dragged by the policemen in a dark alley where he was found dead.
Both Fajardo and Bersaluna both defended the police officers involved in the incident saying that they received information which implicates Delos Santos in illegal drugs activities which was hardly denied by his family.
"Just like how Duterte has coddled the likes of military general Eduardo Año, whom he assigned as the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff and now the current Secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government, he reinforces the repressive system that rewards butchers and human rights violators, instead of punishing and bringing them to justice," Palabay said.
"With these acts, Duterte once again proved that he is ultimately responsible for the killings of thousands in his defective drug war," she added.
Meanwhile, Albayalde defended Fajardo and Bersaluna's appointment despite their "tainted" credibility.
"Paano s'ya tainted eh even during the investigation, even the chief of police hindi nakasuhan during that time. Remember no less than the PAO (Public Attorney's Office) ang nag imbestiga dyan at wala silang nakita doon sa participation ng chief of police so I don't think it's fair na iipitin mo 'yung isang tao na nakita naman natin na nakapagtrabaho, nakapagdeliver naman tapos iiipitin mo lang just for impressions. Hindi siguro sapat 'yun," he said. (SunStar Philippines)