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BY MAE SINGUAY
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Saturday, March 18, 2017
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BACOLOD City – The Police Regional Office 18 (PRO-18) urged the three dioceses of the Roman Catholic Church in the Negros Island Region (NIR) to help in the reformation of drug addicts and pushers.
“Priests should cooperate with us and help us convince those involved in illegal drugs to stop their activities,” said Chief Superintendent Renato Gumban, regional police director.
Father Felix Pasquin, social communications head of the Diocese of Bacolod, recently said the Philippine National Police’s revived antidrug war appeared less bloody that the campaign waged beginning July last year.
According to Gumban, his men follow standard operating procedures in antidrug operations.
They will only “engage” drug suspects if the latter are violent or if innocent civilians become in danger during the operations, he stressed.
Pasquin said policemen appeared more conscious now in avoiding violent confrontations with illegal drug suspects.
He hoped the police will focus more on the humane side of the antidrug operations, that is, with the intention of saving and rehabilitating the pushers, users and even the drug lords.
Gumban insisted there were no drug-related extrajudicial killings in the NIR although he did cite one case in Negros Oriental – a drug suspect fought back while being arrested; this forced the cops to shoot the suspect but a child was accidentally hit.
Gumban described the incident “a mistake on the part of the law enforcement officials.”/PN
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