Cebu PNP: All drug operations legitimate

CEBU, Philippines - Police officials from Cebu Province and Cebu City  maintained during the Senate hearing on extrajudicial killings yesterday that all their anti-drug operations are legitimate and that they followed the protocol in dealing with suspects.

They made the statement after Senator Richard Gordon, chairman of the Senate's Committee on Justice and Human Rights, asked the police to discuss the killings of suspected drug personalities in Cebu.

Senior Superintendent Eric Noble, Cebu Provincial Police Office director, said those killed in the police operations showed aggression by trying to engage in a firefight with the police, which prompted the authorities to defense themselves.

He disclosed that aside from drugs, some operations even yielded high-powered firearms.

“Paranoid na ‘yong mga drug user. So kapag nakita nila ang mga police, akala na nila na dadakipin na sila kaya sila manlaban,” he said.

He mentioned as example the two fatalities during a police operation in Barangay Maghaway, Talisay City two weeks ago.

The two were reportedly notorious hitmen and runners of illegal drugs.

For his part, Senior Superintendent Joel Doria, director of the Cebu City Police Office, reported that 18 drug suspects were killed in the series of anti-drug operations in Cebu City after they tried to shoot it out with the police.

He said the police would always try not to harm drug suspects as they could provide material information for follow-up operations.

CCPO has conducted a total of 595 anti-drug operations.

Doria said 927 suspects were arrested and are alive. He added that medical attention was even given to those wounded suspects.

He said they are also looking into the 42 cases of deaths perpetrated by unidentified assailants.

No death squad

Further, responding to Senator Leila De Lima’s question, Noble said there is no secret police death squad in Cebu that killed suspected drug personalities.

According to De Lima, existence of such secret police unit would mean violation of the PNP rules and regulation that only members of the anti-illegal drugs unit have the authority to undertake anti-illegal drugs operation.

But Noble denied the existence of such secret death squad in Cebu.

He reported that there are 194 murder cases and 28 homicide cases in Cebu Province, including those deaths that are under investigation with suspects who are unidentified.

Central Visayas toll

Meanwhile, Chief Inspector Dexter Calacar, public information officer of the Police Regional Office-7, reported that as of 6 a.m. on Wednesday, at least 121 reported drug personalities have been killed in action or during legitimate police operations.

At least 172 other alleged drug personalities were also killed, but their deaths are still being investigated since the suspects are unidentified. — Michael Vencynth H. Braga and Mylen P. Manto (FREEMAN)