Pointblank
Mishandled
This writer believes that there was a mishandling of the police assault of the Iloilo Provincial Capitol Wednesday last week. It was carried out swiftly without taking into consideration the possible consequences. The police should have noted that there were many civilians and even Capitol employees inside the building during the time. One spark of a gun could have led to a carnage so to speak.
I was one of those who saw the action from the time the throng of policemen start arriving and positioned themselves outside the Capitol compound. I thought the presence of the policemen, including those fully armed RMG personnel, was only to secure the Capitol premises from possible infiltrators. I thought there would be somebody from the DILG or the PNP who would come to negotiate with Tupas to peacefully step down.
Almost all police units had a contingent, making me think that there must be nobody left at Camp Delgado during the time. I even saw several women cops posting in front of the Museo Iloilo. The presence of an Armored Personnel Carrier also surprised me. It was as if they were attacking a rebel camp.
With their sheer number the policemen overpowered the Tupas supporters forming a human chain and were able take control of the Capitol premises while the others forcefully barged inside the Capitol building by destroying the glass door panels at the back entrance.
Inside while taking pictures, I was just waiting that a burst of gunfire would occur as I could see in the faces of the RMG personnel armed with armalite rifles the seriousness as if they were in a battle field.
It was just fortunate that the much-awaited temporary restraining order (TRO) from the Court of Appeals Cebu City was faxed to the Office of the Governor just before the police could barge into the governor's office. Otherwise, something worse could have happened to the governor and his family.
There may be reason for the police to act that way as they were informed that there were armed persons inside the Capitol building out to protect and defend Tupas. But at the time that they already gained entrance to the building and have seen that nobody was armed the police could have mellowed down. I think the problem during the time was that there was no police official on hand to negotiate with the group of Governor Tupas. Supt. Cornelio Defensor came in only after the RMG personnel already took control of the Capitol. Well, the rest is history.
Everybody was just thankful that no bloodshed occurred during that fateful day which has made its mark in the history of Iloilo.