And for this
administration we thought President Rodrigo Duterte is the only controversial
person in government…. we were wrong…that’s if were gonna ask Cebu City Mayor
Tomas Osmeña.
The Mayor is
again being in the limelight for one of his controversial program- he told the
Cebu city policemen that for every criminal killed WHILE performing their law
enforcement duty.
Sounds very
familiar right? Along those lines the President Duterte also made a somewhat
similar statement with respect to the members of the Philippine National Police
(PNP). *
Cebu City Mayor Tommy Osmeña (photo grabbed from Youtube) |
“Do your
duty, and if in the process you kill one thousand persons because you were
doing your duty, I will protect you. And if they try to impeach me, I will
hurry the process and we will go out of the service together,” Duterte said
during the ceremonies for Director General Roland de la Rosa’s assumption of
command of the Philippine National Police (PNP).
Some
quarters are saying that this move by Osmeña is but a diluted copycat of what
the President is doing in a grander scale.
In response to that insinuation, the Cebu Mayor
said that : providing cash assistance to policemen who neutralized a criminal
was his original idea, which he implemented even before President Duterte
assumed office.
In a news conference last Monday, Osmeña said, “No,
Mr. Duterte is following me. I gave P50,000 even before Mr. Duterte was sworn
into office. Well, I can claim that he was following me. I really don’t like to
put it that way but just to make it clear, ako ang nag-una (I did it first),”
he said.
He further clarifies that the intent of the
program is for the policemen to receive for every slain criminal,
was not a reward but financial assistance to law enforcers who might face a
string of cases. *
The cash assistance, Osmeña said, would provide
“peace of mind” to the police.
Osmeña maintained that his program would not
promote violence. “Promote violence? What kind of twisted logic is that? Why
don’t we disarm all the policemen? When policemen carry firearms, you might be
promoting violence, right?” he said.
The money will be taken from the city’s
discretionary fund which amounts to P7.4 million this year and P7.8 million
next year.
And if there is problem with spending the
public funds? Osmeña said he could also use his own money to grant financial
assistance to the police.
This pronouncement made the Commission on Human
Rights (CHR) in Central Visayas cautioned the Mayor that his plan might lead to
human rights abuses in the long run.
“CHR assures everybody of its continuous
monitoring of the government’s compliance with human rights norms and standards
pursuant to its treaty commitments,” CHR
regional director lawyer Arvin Odron said.
Cebu’s version of DDS?
In 2004, a group of elite policemen was chosen
by the Mayor to comprise this so-called Hunters Team, which is tasked to go
after known criminals.
From 2004 to August 2006, at least 168
suspected or convicted criminals were reported to have been shot dead by
motorcycle-riding men in vigilante-style killings linked to what was widely
believed as a death squad operating in Cebu City. *
The vigilante killings stopped in the late 2006 when the City was very busy preparing to be a host for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit.
The vigilante killings stopped in the late 2006 when the City was very busy preparing to be a host for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit.
After being elected mayor again in May 2016, Mayor
Osmeña announced that he would give financial assistance to policemen who could
kill criminals while in the performance of their duty, particularly those
involved in illegal drugs.
Osmeña had released a total of P625,000 in
assistance to members of the PNP.
It was reported that among those who received
the money were police officers who killed Cebu’s top drug lord, Jeffrey
“Jaguar” Diaz, and his bodyguard in Las Piñas City on June 17 last year; and
Rowen “Yawa” Secretaria, the third most wanted drug lord in Central Visayas.
But Osmeña withdrew his offer of cash
assistance in July 2016 after the Philippine National Police decided to
reshuffle its police officers, including former Cebu City police director
Benjamin Santos.
Talk about similarities with the incumbent
President and then Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, a politician with
political will.
All the controversial policies and programs
done by the President made him what he is today- the President of the Republic
of the Philippines that is backed and loved by majority of Filipinos wherever
they may be. *
With this controversial program of Mayor Osmeña,
are the Cebuanos backing him up?, can this just be a prelude to something
bigger in the near future with respect to his political career?, the making of
another Bisaya President perhaps? L
Let’s wait and see.
Report from Phil Daily Inquirer
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