PNP chief Acorda says recent killings a 'slap on their face'

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Police General Benjamin Acorda on Friday said the recent killings that happened across the country is a “slap on their face.”

Acorda made the statement at the Senate plenary deliberations on the P196.744 billion proposed 2024 budget of the PNP after Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III raised the issue.

Pimentel mentioned the recent incident inside a Victory Liner Bus, the ambush of Lanao del Sur Governor Mamintal Alonto Adiong Jr. and Aparri, Cagayan Vice Mayor Rommel Alameda, the case of Catherine Camilon, and the missing sabungeros.

The minority chief noted that the shooting incident inside a public utility bus happened amid the imposition of a gun ban.

“For example, ‘yung dalawang nabaril doon sa loob ng bus at a time when may gun ban pa. Parang wala nang takot e. Gun ban, hindi takot maglabas ng baril, tapos ginamit pa ‘yung baril pampatay in a public place, may chance pa makadamay ng iba na hindi nila target,” Pimentel said.

(For example, the killing of two individuals inside the bus at a time when there is a gun ban. The criminals are not afraid to commit crimes anymore.)

“I think we should bring back the deterrent effect of our criminal laws because the certainty of the PNP and the other law enforcement agencies in solving the crime is high and they will be ultimately caught and charged in court,” he went on.

Pimentel then asked about the state of criminality in the Philippines as well as the plans of the PNP to improve the peace and order in the country.

Senate finance committee chairman Sonny Angara, who defended the PNP’s  budget, said the number of incidents in 2023 involving the eight focus crimes went down except for the cases of homicide.

“I’m looking at the data [on] eight focus crimes, comparing the January to October period in 2022 to this year's January to October period, the crime seemed to be down across the board, except for homicide and a lot of the cases that you mentioned are homicide or murder,” Angara said.

“In the cases of physical injury, rape, crimes against property, robbery, theft, carnapping of motor vehicles, carnapping of motorcycles, bumaba ho s’ya but homicide umakyat po from 851 during that period, umakyat to 907, but the others, lahat po bumaba,” he added.

Despite this, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri pointed out that these homicide cases put a “blackeye” on the Philippines’ reputation in the international community.

The Senate chief specifically mentioned the case of killing inside a public utility bus, as well as the case of broadcaster Juan Jumalon who was shot dead inside his house while doing his program.

“I saw the video itself and I said, 'Oh my goodness parang baboy lang, pinatay na parang baboy',” Zubiri said.

(The victims were killed as if they were pigs.)

Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva also called on the PNP to be more serious about the “brazen killings” in the country, noting that this has never happened before.

“Hindi pa natin ito nararanasan before na pupuntahan sa loob ng studio at nagsasalita or governor na nakaupo sa loob ng kanyang compound. My God!” Villanueva said.

(We have not seen these kinds of crime before.)

“If we can’t do something about it, it speaks volume of who we are really as Filipinos. Sino tayo bilang isang bansa? We need to take action on this,” he went on.

Angara agreed with the manifestations of his colleagues.

“According to the PNP chief, they take these incidents as a slap on their faces and they resolve to work double time,” Angara, speaking on behalf of Acorda, said. —AOL, GMA Integrated News