“Law enforcement officials should keep in mind that they should be waging a war on drugs, not a war on each other.”
This was the sentiment expressed by Deputy Speaker and Manila 6th District Rep. Benny Abante Jr. on Wednesday as he called on the leadership of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) to review their operations in order to prevent fatal “misencounters” in the future.
“I urge the leadership of both the PNP and the PDEA to take a hard, long look at the conduct of their operations and identify the lapses and issues that may occur in their anti-drug operations.”
Speaking to reporters at the Ugnayan sa Batasan, Abante said that he agreed with the call of President Rodrigo Duterte to put on hold congressional inquiries until the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) completes its investigation as “legislative inquiries will always benefit from more accurate and reliable information, and we are hopeful that the NBI can obtain these so we can have a more productive inquiry into the shootout.”
According to the lawmaker, “having a third party look into the incident will, in my view, allow for an objective ascertainment and assessment of the facts and prevent a ‘he said, he said’ scenario between the two agencies involved.”
Nonetheless, the agencies involved should not wait for the investigations and inquiries before taking action, said Abante.
“These should be addressed because when our own men are felled by friendly fire, that means the real criminals have literally and figuratively dodged bullets meant for them.”
“I believe the agencies should not wait for these investigations and inquiries before taking steps to avoid and prevent a similar occurrence in the immediate future.”
“I urge the leadership of both the PNP and the PDEA to take a hard, long look at the conduct of their operations and identify the lapses and issues that may occur in their anti-drug operations,” appealed Abante.
The legislator was hopeful that the NBI investigation would be able to identify the lapses and issues in the conduct of the operations that led to the February 24 shootout between PDEA and PNP operatives that claimed four lives.
“These should be addressed because when our own men are felled by friendly fire, that means the real criminals have literally and figuratively dodged bullets meant for them,” lamented the solon.
“The investigation and succeeding inquiries,” stressed Abante, “should pave the way for reforms and actions that will allow the PNP and PDEA to better execute their operations.”
“This is important especially in light of the passage of HB 7814, or amendments to the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act, which the House approved on final reading last night.”