THE BLOODY killing of Gov. Roel Degamo of Negros Oriental and eight companions shocked the government, including law enforcement agencies from the PNP (Philippine National Police), NBI (National Bureau of Investigation), CIDG (Criminal Investigation and Detection Group), Department of Justice, and the Armed Forces of the Philippines. The incident exposed what has been the perception of average citizens and Filipino taxpayers – that our criminal law justice system is rotten to the core.
Information are surfacing how political warlords operate with impunity, and the extent of their power. You hear how law enforcement agents (if they attempt to investigate the masterminds), are being harassed and some are even killed; fiscals or prosecutors are bought and pressured; judges are bought or influenced; firearms licenses are given freely, and many other raw demonstrations of brute power.
What happened in Negros Oriental is no less different in the Maguindanao massacre where the principal suspects are the Ampatuans, described as the political warlords in Mindanao.
We are lucky that in the four provinces of Panay (Iloilo, Capiz, Aklan, Antique, to include Guimaras), we do not have political warlords of that magnitude, and power, as found in the island of Negros.
In the Province of Iloilo, the dominating political power are the Defensors and in Iloilo City, it is the Treñas. But these families for years have been known as families of principles and believe in the Rule of Law, and do not tolerate abuse of power.
Likewise, even in Capiz, Antique, Aklan, or Guimaras, you cannot hear those families that are in the reign of political power using goons, killings, threats or harassment just to get what they want or employing these methods against their political adversaries.
We appreciate the decisive action of President Marcos, in seeing to it that those responsible for the killing of Gov. Degamo and many others shall be charged and arrested. We also appreciate the swift response of the CIDG, and the Department of Justice in securing search warrants and seized those huge numbers of firearms and explosives that are illegally in the custody of these warlords
But it’s too early to say that justice was upheld or that the Rule of Law now prevails. The mere filing of charges is not enough. I wish the Department of Justice thru its top trial prosecutors could file the corresponding Information in court against these warlords, start the trial and secure a conviction based on the evidence at the earliest possible time, consistent with due process.
I also wish that the officers and personnel of PNP Firearms and Explosives Division, and its policies shall be reviewed on the granting of licenses of numerous high-powered firearms to VIPs. Likewise the Department of Justice shall investigate public prosecutors and if needed overhaul its branch in the entire island of Negros.
In a similar way, the Supreme Court shall investigate its judges in Negros, especially in Negros Oriental, on the way they preside criminal cases where the accused are either VIPs or men of these VIPs. – ATTY. HECTOR P. TEODOSIO, Iloilo City <heclaw@yahoo.com></heclaw@yahoo.com>
