TRILLANES SEEKS PROBE ON POLICE ROLE ON
ANTICRIME CRUSADER'S DEATH

Senator Antonio F. Trillanes IV has filed a resolution seeking to conduct an inquiry on the alleged involvement of some members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) in numerous extrajudicial killings in the country, most recent of which is the involvement of PNP members in the murder of Zenaida Luz, an anticrime advocate.

In the filed Proposed Resolution No. 201, Trillanes noted that out of the 3,844 reported deaths since July 2016, 2,294 are victims of the vigilante-style killings and the remaining 1,550 are those who are killed in police operations.

"The figure is very alarming especially since members of government forces are allegedly being used to perpetuate this kind of killings," Trillanes said.

The resolution cited the case of the involvement of two junior police officials in the killing of Ms. Zenaida M. Luz, a 51 year old Citizen Crime Watch (CCW) regional chairperson. She was gunned down by a riding in tandem who turned out to be these two policemen who were identified as Senior Inspector Magdalino G. Pimentel Jr. and Inspector Markson S. Almeranez. Inspector Almeranez was even awarded this year as outstanding police commissioned officer by PNP Director General Dela Rosa.

On top of this, the resolution also cited the 4 October 2016 article of The Guardian, a British National daily newspaper, which featured a senior officer of the PNP who bared that he is a part of the 10 newly-formed and highly secretive special operations teams, and that he is personally involved in 87 killings in the past three months. The said teams are coordinated to execute a list of targets who are suspected drug users, dealers and criminals.

Trillanes added: "This should be immediately investigated for us to come up with remedial legislation to ensure that the members of the PNP do not use their authority, training and power in committing unlawful and criminal activities. We should also revisit the Philippine National Reform Act to ensure that the PNP's constitutionally enshrined mandate to 'serve and protect' would be upheld.