Flaws in PNP, PDEA ops procedure must be identified to avoid another shootout, solon says

Flaws in the operational procedures conducted by the police and anti-drug agents must be identified in order to prevent the repeat of the deadly Commonwealth shootout last week, a lawmaker said Tuesday.

Muntinlupa Representative Ruffy Biazon said a thorough review of the operational manuals of the Philippine National Police and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency should be conducted to check if their protocols need "fixing."

“While many are looking forward to seeing heads roll after the PNP-PDEA fatal fiasco at Ever (Gotesco), what I'd like to see are the flaws of their operational procedures followed by necessary changes to prevent a repeat and enable them to capture those in the drug trade,” Biazon said in a press release.

"The operation manuals should be scrutinized line by line if need be, for us to identify flaws in the procedures and the lapses committed, if any,” he added.

President Rodrigo Duterte already tasked the National Bureau of Investigation to solely probe the alleged misencounter that claimed the lives of two cops, two PDEA agents, and one PDEA informant.

Biazon said the mandatory use of body cameras could have revealed what really transpired during last Wednesday's shootout, which both agencies claimed to be legitimate operations.

“It’s an instance like this when bodycams in law enforcement operations are needed in order to have a record of what really happened. Exactly as embodied in legislation that I have been pushing for since 2016,” Biazon said.

"The body cams would have acted as neutral eyewitnesses to the encounter," he said.

Biazon is the author of House Bill No. 32 or the Body Camera Act, which mandates law enforcement personnel to wear body cameras during law enforcement and special police operations.

The PNP, for its part, is eyeing to start the use of body cameras in their anti-criminal operations this month.—AOL, GMA News