Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 27) — Illegal buy-bust operations launched by some officers of the Philippine National Police (PNP) are “most likely proliferating” across the Philippines, according to Santa Rosa Lone District Rep. Dan Fernandez.
Fernandez, who chairs the House Committee on Public Order and Safety, expressed alarm over recent reports from relatives of those arrested by police in Calabarzon.This is not the only case being addressed to us. Most likely, this is proliferating in the whole country,” Fernandez said during the second hearing on alleged irregularities in law enforcement operations on Thursday.The probe was launched after Rep. Romeo Acop—a former police officer—filed a resolution revealing one of the cases of supposed abductions by authorities.Acop said the relatives of those detained claimed they were not actually arrested “but abducted.In the resolution filed in February, Acop said a certain Christian Joenelle Babagay was arrested in a buy-bust operation in San Isidro, Antipolo City.However, Acop recounted Babagay’s statement claiming police officers “tortured him physically by covering his head with a plastic bag, and warned that a case will be filed against him if he will not admit to selling and possessing marijuana.After the probe started on March 22, the two lawmakers saw a “pattern” of alleged abductions of individuals by some policemen who conduct drug busts as they received more reports.After nakita o naipalabas sa Facebook yung hearing na ‘yun, my office has received a call from a citizen, resident of the province of Bulacan, under the jurisdiction of Cong. Boy Cruz, sinasabi na ganon din ang nangyari sa kanilang kamag-anak. I received a call from somebody from Tagaytay, sinasabi rin na ganon ang nangyari sa kanila. And one from Makati, kinuha sila sa Makati, sa Parañaque nangyari yung buy bust,” he said.[Translation: After the hearing was shown on Facebook, my office received a call from a citizen, resident of the province of Bulacan, under the jurisdiction of Cong. Boy Cruz, saying that the same thing happened to their relative. I received a call from somebody from Tagaytay, also saying that’s what happened to them. And one from Makati, they were taken in Makati, but the buy-bust happened in Parañaque.]A friend of drug suspect Babagay also claimed to have been abducted by policemen, and held inside a vehicle for about an hour.While he asked the PNP, Acop said the agency maintained that the “operation was in order.I told them if I can find any evidence that their operation was not in order, I will be the one to conduct an investigation. If I find out that the operation was not in accordance with the protocols provided by the manuals of the PNP, I will file a resolution to open a legislative inquiry which we’re doing now,” Acop added.Fernandez said the committee would release its report on the issue after the last hearing.He also expects the PNP to submit its plan of action.
“It boils down to the problem of implementation. You need to secure the rights of each and everybody, and at the same time protect our own men in the PNP because our image is being tarnished because of wrongdoings of a few others,” Fernandez said.
CNN Philippines is still trying to get a statement from the PNP.
