Kiko Pangilinan to Duterte ‘Itigil mo na ito palayain mo na ang Pilipinas!

President Rodrigo Duterte should consider stopping the government’s “aggressive” campaign against illegal drugs, at least three senators said Wednesday after the missing 14-year-old companion of slain teen Carl Angelo Arnaiz was found dead with 30 stab wounds in Nueva Ecija.

In a statement, Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan said the daily killings of drug suspects is not the solution to the drug problem.

“Kinokondena natin ang karumal-dumal na krimen ng pagpatay na dulot nitong baluktot at salot na war on drugs. Lumilitaw na ang tunay na anyo ng giyerang ito,” Pangilinan said.

Pangilinan, president of the former ruling Liberal Party (LP), called on Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa to hold the perpetrators accountable.

“Hanapin ang maysala at papanagutin. Hindi luha ang sukatan ng malasakit sa kapwa o sa paggampan sa trabaho…Umaksyon naman kayo,” the senator said.

“Tanging pag-anunsyo lamang ng Pangulo na itigil ang war on drugs ang siyang makatitigil sa patayan ng mga inosente at sa pang-aabuso at pagiging mamamatay tao ng mga tiwaling PNP,” he added.

Senator Grace Poe, meanwhile, said the death of Reynaldo de Guzman is disturbing.

“14 years old, walang kalaban-laban. Sabihin natin na nangholdap, hindi naman ganyan ang aabutin. Alam mo nakakabahala na talaga iyan lalo na kapag parang ganun-ganun na lang ang buhay lalo’t bata pa,” Poe said.

De Guzman, also known as Kulot, was the last person seen with Arnaiz on the night the 19-year-old was killed in Caloocan.

According to authorities, Arnaiz held up a taxi driver on August 18 in Navotas. The police officers were patrolling the area and said that Arnaiz was positively identified by the taxi driver. The teen, they claimed, opened fire at them.

Arnaiz’s parents found him in a morgue on August 28, 10 days after he had gone missing. De Guzman’s body was found near a creek in Gapan, Nueve Ecija nine days after Arnaiz’s body was found.

The autopsy report of the Public Attorney’s Office showed that Arnaiz bore handcuff marks and his eyes were swollen. He also seemed to have been kneeling when he was shot several times on the chest.

Evaluate strategy

In a text message, Senator Joel Villanueva said the government should evaluate its strategy in addressing the problem of illegal drugs.

Villanueva pointed out that several gaps in police operations have been identified in Senate hearings, including the identification of suspects and areas where the cops will operate, as well as protocols in case seniors and minors are around.

“The PNP should take these findings seriously. Otherwise, they should just terminate their operations and rethink the approach in addressing our drug problem,” he said.

“Recent killings (vigilante) show that our police force has no complete control of criminality. It is important to re-evaluate our strategy and consider stopping this aggressive campaign and rethink our strategy in addressing the drug problem,” Villanueva added. — RSJ/KVD, GMA News