DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Exaggerated and fictional.
This was how a police spokesperson described Vice President Leni Robredo’s accounts of the “Palit-Ulo” (exchange of heads) scheme.
“We vehemently deny the stories being portrayed by our vice president. It’s exaggerated, in a way fictional because yung dinedescribe parang nakikita lang natin sa pelikula” (what she describes can only be seen in the movies), Police Regional Office 11 Spokesperson Police Chief Insp. Andrea Dela Cerna said in a press briefing on Wednesday, March 22.
In a video message to the United Nations, Robredo criticized the current administration’s war on drugs as she accused the police of supposedly detaining relatives or partners of suspected drug personalities if they themselves could not be found.
He clarified that the “palit-ulo” scheme as practiced in the police force was entirely different. Dela Cerna said they rewarded cooperating drug users and pushers who gave up the names of their suppliers with a lesser penalty.
“Nagkakaroon ng mitigating circumstance dun sa pagkahuli niya and for a lighter penalty, hindi naman sinasabing na ma-abswelto siya, eh magsasabi siya kung sino pa yung iba” (It becomes a mitigating circumstance to his/her apprehension that for a lighter penalty, I’m not saying that it will absolve him, he must divulge other names), Dela Cerna said.
Meanwhile, Davao City Police Office City Director Sr. Supt. Michael John Dubria said that in order to engage in such activity would be tantamount to illegal detention.
“Her (Robredo) version is wrong. Because that would be tantamount to kidnapping. Nabbing a suspect’s family or relative? That’s kidnapping or detention. That’s another crime. We could not correct a mistake with committing another,” Dubria said.
Dubria maintained that the police, especially the DCPO, engaged only in legitimate police operations such as buy-busts.
Dela Cerna also downplayed Robredo’s claims of witness accounts. Dela Cerna said anyone can come up with such stories. She also said that if the claims were true, it would have surfaced in the news.
“If there were cases before, edi sana lumabas din siya sa media. Because tayo naman ngayon halos wala na tayong maitatago. Cellphone, lahat, video napakadali. So kung nangyari talaga ‘yun, imposibleng walang lumabas” (If these cases before, then it would have surfaced in the media. Nowadays, there’s almost no privacy. [We have] cellphones, [taking] videos are so easy. So if it really happens, it’s impossible for it to remain hidden.
Instead, Dela Cerna encouraged the public to closely coordinate with the police. Dela Cerna said they will prosecute such erring officers accordingly.
“Hindi po natin tinotolerate itong mga ganitong klaseng activity, especially here in PRO 11” (We do not tolerate these kinds of activities, especially here in PRO 11), Dela Cerna said. (davaotoday.com)
