(BERNARD TAGUINOD)

NAKAPANLILIIT para sa isang mambabatas sa Kamara ang inasal ng mga tauhan ng Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) at Philippine National Police (PNP) dahil posibleng mas marami sa mga ito ang namatay sa kanilang engkwentro kung hindi nakialam ang kani-kanilang mga opisyal.

Hindi lang kahiya-hiya kundi kasuklam-suklam din para kay House committee on dangerous drug chairman Rep. Robert Ace Barbers ang nangyaring engkwentro ng mga operatiba ng dalawang ahensya noong isang linggo sa Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City.

Sa kanyang privilege speech kaugnay ng nasabing insidente, sinabi ni Barbers na sa unang bahagi pa lamang ng putukan ay alam na ng mga ahente na kapwa sila nasa panig ng gobyerno subalit umabot pa aniya ng mahigit isang oras ang putukan.

“What was more disgusting and very embarrassing Mr. Speaker is that it went on for more than an hour while the ensuing news report repeatedly and clearly state that the fighting was between the police and the PDEA agents.

Base sa mga footage ng mga CCTV ay nagpakilala na ang mga ahente ng PDEA pero tuloy pa rin ang pagpapaputok sa kanila ng mga pulis.

“Not only that, the news and footages show a clear indication that one side are police officers, and the other side belongs to the PDEA, because many of them were visibly wearing uniforms. What was worse, Mr. Speaker, is that the PDEA agents were discriminately targeted,” ayon pa sa mambabatas.

Sa isa pang video na ipinakita ni Barbers sa plenaryo ng Kamara, hinalughog ng mga pulis ang comfort room ng fast food restaurant kung saan nagtago ang mga tao kasama ang ilang PDEA agent.

“It can be seen from the footage that when someone voluntarily submitted and identified herself a female PDEA agent, who even presented her PDEA identification documents, she was harshly treated like an enemy as she was required to crawl flat on the floor with both hands behind her head,” ani Barbers.

Taliwas ito sa maayos na pagtrato ng mga pulis sa isang lalaki na nagpakilalang pulis at hindi na hinanapan ng ID habang ang mga PDEA agent aniya na inaresto ay trinatong kriminal.

“Mr. Speaker, the police and PDEA agents involved must have known and identified each other that they both belong to the government, but they did not bother to initiate efforts to immediately cease the exchange of gunfire. As reported in the news, the contending parties finally stopped the shooting only when their respective high-ranking officials personally interceded, which happened more than an hour after it started,” ani Barbers.