De Lima slams PNP's boast of drug war win: How safe are we?

Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima posed this question to the Philippine National Police (PNP) following the murder of a high school teacher in Dasol, Pangasinan in broad daylight even as she slammed its claim that it is winning in the war against illegal drugs.

Ruby Marcha Domalanta was driving a tricycle with his wife when he was gunned down in the morning of July 1. Domalanta, a 46-year-old high school teacher, was pronounced dead on arrival at the Dasol Community Hospital while his wife was unhurt.

"Ligtas pa ba tayo sa ating mga lansangan, lalo ngayong pati simpleng guro ay pinapatay na rin nang walang kalaban-laban?" said De Lima, a staunch advocate of human rights and social justice.

De Lima also scored the PNP Director-General Oscar Albayalde's claim that the government is winning its three-year-old "War on Drugs" amid the latest killing of a three-year-old girl in a buy-bust operation.

"Ito ba ang panalo para sa gobyernong ito? Ang pagpaslang sa isa na namang inosenteng bata tulad ni Myka, at sa libo-libong mahihirap na Pilipino?" said De Lima, referring to the death of three-year-old Myka Ulpina in a buy-bust operation in Rizal on June 30.

"Panalo ba nilang maituturing na pagkatapos ng tatlong taon, bilyon-bilyong halaga ng ilegal na droga pa rin ang naipupuslit sa bansa, habang nananatiling malaya ang mga tunay na drug lords?" she added.

De Lima said Albayalde's pronouncement is the latest in the long list of lies propagated by the Duterte regime to divert the public's attention away from the thousands of extrajudicial killings emanating from its all-out war against drugs.

"Kung sabagay, sadyang binabaligtad nila ngayon ang lahat sa rehimeng Duterte. Ang inosente, ikinukulong at pinapatay. Ang kriminal, pinapalaya at pinagtatakpan. Ang para sa Pilipino, ipinamimigay sa dayuhan," she pointed out.

"Kung 'panalo' ang pakahulugan nila sa salitang 'palpak', talagang magpapatuloy pa ang araw-araw na patayan, hindi titigil ang pagkitil sa mga walang kalaban-laban, gaya ni Myka, ng apat na taong gulang na si Skyler Abatayo, limang taong gulang na si Danica May Garcia, at labimpitong taong gulang na si Kian Loyd de los Santos," she added.

In this 18th Congress, the lady Senator from Bicol is filing several legislative measures aimed at addressing human rights violations committed under the Duterte regime's all-out war on drugs.

She is also reintroducing a measure seeking to beef up the Philippine National Police's Human Rights Affairs Office (PNP-HRAO) to ensure that policemen will have the highest regard for human rights and rule of law in the exercise of its mandate.