Senators naalarma

BUNSOD nang pagkakapatay kay Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa at isa pang drug suspect na si Raul Yap sa sinasabing shootout sa loob ng Baybay City Provincial Jail sa Leyte kahapon ng umaga, sinabi ni Senador Panfilo Lacson, isusulong niya ang pagpapatuloy ng imbestigasyon ng Senado sa extrajudicial killings (EJK).

“Offhand, I can smell EJK and I base my conclusion on the circumstances that surround the killing,” pahayag ni Lacson.

Ayon kay Lacson, sa pagbabalik ng sesyon ng Senado sa Lunes, imumungkahi niya kay Senador Richard Gordon, chairman ng Senate committee on justice, ang muling pagpapasimula ng imbestigasyon sa EJKs. Habang sinabi ni Gordon, ang pagkakapatay kay Espinosa “was a dagger in the heart of the criminal justice system as it appears that even those who are in the custody of the law are no longer safe.”

Ayon kay Gordon, palaisipan sa kanya ang sinasabing sirkumtansiyang bumabalot sa pagkamatay ni Espinosa.

“How can we encourage suspects to surrender under the law in this situation? It’s a slap on the face of the rule of law and it signals a more desperate system – a ‘take no prisoners’ approach. This creates an atmosphere of intimidation and fear and puts everybody in danger,” pahayag ni Gordon.

Samantala, ikinalungkot ni Senador Antonio Trillanes IV ang pagkamatay ni Espinosa, “we will never know who his accomplices are, where his supplies are coming from and who his clients are.”

“Regardless of the script the local police would use, at the end of the day, dead men tell no tales,” aniya.