Photo Release

To serve and protect?: Sen. Raffy Tulfo laments the spate of abuses committed by police officers during the resumption of the Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs' public hearing Wednesday, August 30, 2023 on the killing of 17-year-old Jemboy Baltazar in Navotas City. Tulfo, who delivered a privilege speech on the mistaken identity incident, said he received numerous complaints, mostly from indigents, about "abusive" members of the Philippine National Police. "Let me remind you that you, our policemen, play one of the most important and sensitive roles in our society: To serve and protect. We are trusting you to protect us against the lawless, instead, you are the ones causing harm." Tulfo, chiding the police officers who figured in Baltazar's death, said in mixed English and Filipino. "How can we trust you when in fact you are the ones assaulting us and violating our human rights?" he asked. (Voltaire F. Domingo/Senate PRIB)