Press Release
January 24, 2017

Drilon: PHL in deep trouble if killings remain unabated

The killing of South Korean businessman Jee Ick-joo inside Camp Crame and the mounting number of unresolved deaths related to the war on drugs showed that the country is heading toward a serious problem, according to Senate President Pro-Tempore Franklin M. Drilon today.

"The country is heading towards a serious law enforcement problem when these killings remain unabated and unresolved and culture of impunity among law enforcers perpetuates," Drilon said.

According to Drilon, "if such crime could be committed inside the PNP's very headquarters, then how can anyone feel safe anywhere?"

"If policemen are always suspected of participating in gruesome crimes, then how can Filipinos trust them?" he asked.

A lawyer and former justice secretary, Drilon stressed: "The government and the PNP should resolve these rampant killings immediately, for that is the only way respect and trust to the institution will be restored."

Drilon also said that the killing of Ick-joo, the murder of Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa allegedly committed by members of the PNP, the so-called "tokhang for ransom", and the "hulidap" "highlighted the weakness of the PNP to police its own ranks which undermines the administration's campaign against drugs."

""The killing of Ick-joo inside Camp Crame is one of the most horrific, alarming, and shameful episodes in PNP history," he added.

"There seems to be a leadership crisis in the PNP and a breakdown of command at some levels, if not at all levels," according to Drilon.

He said that became more apparent during the Senate's investigation into the murder of Albuera Mayor Espinosa, as well as in the killing of Ick-joo, where Dela Rosa was not informed of the whereabouts of one of the suspects in the killing, SPO1 Ricky Sta. Isabel.

"PNP Chief General Bato Dela Rosa must exercise leadership and regain full control and supervision of his men and women in the PNP," he emphasized.

"I remind PNP of its mandate to enforce the laws, prevent crimes, and ensure public safety. To abide by it faithfully would mean that anyone among its ranks who breaks the laws they swore to enforce and perpetrates the very crimes they are duty-bound to prevent will not go unpunished," Drilon concluded.

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