ICPO chief vows to abide by new order on presentation of suspects
Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) Director Senior Supt. Bartolome Tobias said they will abide with the new guideline set by new PNP Director General Jesus Versoza relative to the presentation of crime suspects to the media.
Tobias said, though they have yet to receive official orders from the chief PNP, his verbal order is already considered an official order.
The new PNP chief recently warned arresting officers from immediately presenting to the media crime suspects. Violators would be dealt with accordingly. Different associations especially from the Chinese community in Manila protested the order.
The city director who is also a lawyer by profession defended Versoza's order. He said they must give emphasis on the rights of the suspects. The suspects are presumed innocent unless proven otherwise. "They (suspects) have also the Constitutional rights and are covered by the Bill of Rights," Tobias said.
It is between the rights of the suspects and public awareness in presenting the suspects before the members of the Fourth Estate. The rights of the suspects are more important than showing their faces to the public. In other countries, the identities of the suspects are withheld pending the court's verdict.
Tobias added the new policy will not affect the police. Presenting the suspects after their successful police operations will not at all serve as moral booster to the police.
Normally, after a successful police operation in any crime, the police will call for a press conference to present their accomplishments to the media. Politicians also appeared during the press conferences.