DOJ sec to the rescue of PNP in Capitol operation
It was no overkill but a legitimate police operation "in pursuit of legal orders." And while the scenes as seen on television and newspapers were rather graphic, it is not right to say it told the real story in its entirety and told it right.
Such was the position of Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez on the 'aftershocks' generated by Thursday's "Capitol siege."
With clear orders to arrest Governor Niel Tupas and other Capitol personalities for seditious acts and effect the dismissal order of the Ombudsman through the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), the police force as assembled by the Police Regional Office (PRO) 6 dramatically barged into the building.
Said police operation generated harsh reactions from politicians and top national government officials with the Senate calling for an investigation on the incident.
Among those out to probe the police was the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) with no less than CHR Commissioner Purificacion Valera-Quisumbing on the lead. Gonzalez after hearing her early pronouncements was concerned of the CHR chief's possible pre-judgment.
As such, the Justice Secretary wrote to Quisumbing saying he welcomes any investigation but only by "people with open minds because we seem to have the penchant of blaming the police even if they were merely acting in pursuit of legal orders."
"I regret to say that your comments which compared the Tupas incident with the situation in Iraq is an obvious pre-judgment against the police. I believe that is uncalled for," Gonzalez began in a two-page letter released to the local media. "For your information, I think the police were more tolerant in the face of antagonistic tactics of Gov. Tupas even giving in to the governor's request for more time in order to serve a TRO notwithstanding the time which already elapsed from the deadline given by the DILG for the governor to vacate the capitol premises."
And there were armed in the Capitol, the Justice Secretary continued, particularly the provincial guards including those whom he said "are in fact the private army of the governor."
"Consequently for you to claim that the "civilians" inside (and others milling outside) the capitol were "unarmed" is totally an understatement of the year," the letter added. "Moreover, active fully-armed members of the NPA of the Bayan-Panay group have converged at the provincial capitol, mixed with the sympathizers of the governor and were in full control of the capitol up to the time when the police entered the building."
Gonzalez in ending his letter left this message to the CHR chair – "It is our hope that in our desire for the protection of human rights, we do not go overboard and cast the police and law enforcers as the villains while turning a blind eye to the more abrasive truth."
In Saturday's press conference arranged by concerned city barangay captains, the Justice Secretary further expressed his discontent on the anti-police sentiments.
"Why don't we just give them immunity to commit graft and corruption," he quipped.