Legal fireworks threaten PNP

The television footages of the Regional Mobile Group's dispersal operation at the Iloilo Provincial Capitol Wednesday afternoon clearly showed that the lawmen used unnecessary force on the sympathizers of Iloilo Govenor Niel Tupas Sr. Provincial Administrator Boy Mejorada and Tupas's son, Mayor Raul, also showed TV cameramen the injuries they alleged received at the hands of the RMG personnel whom they had tried to stop from proceeding with their strong-arm dispersal.

But, as mentioned by Mejorada, Police Regional Director Wilfredo Dulay reportedly told him that he had been ordered by Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez to accelerate the deadline for the dispersal to Wednesday instead of yesterday.

But the worst thing that happened, according to provincial officials identified with Tupas, was that there was no commander on the ground whom they could have talked to before the ouster order was given.

"All we wanted was just one hour extension because the temporary restraining order was already on the way," was how Tupas and Mejorada put it.

But the absence of a ground commander of the RMG prevented a negotiated dialog.

So what happened, as caught by the camera, was that RMG personnel leveled their guns at the Tupas sympathizers who included immediate members of his family.

"We definitely are going to file charges against the police," Mejorada and Mayor Tupas stressed.

DILG Secretary Ronaldo Puno defended the PNP from charges of being overbearing, pointing out that resistance to dispersal often amounts to sedition.

But in the Iloilo capitol drama, there was hardly any resistance to the enforcement of the Ombudsman order. Besides, the dispersal was moved ahead of the 48-hour deadline.

Camera shots and still photos captured policemen pointing their guns at the unarmed civilians. In several instances, they were caught forcibly removing them and even throwing them to the ground.

Even political allies of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo of Western Visayas reacted angrily to the incident.

Governor Sally Zaldivar-Perez of Antique, chairman of the Regional Development Council, condemned the police handling of the dispersal operation as high-handed an unnecessarily forceful.

A more bloody incident was averted with the timely arrival of the TRO which meant a 60-day order against the enforcement of the dismissal of Tupas.

The order, signed by Associate Justices Francisco Acosta, Agustin Dizon and Isaias Dicdican directed government officials to preserve the status quo and to defend the rights of the petitioners.

But it arrived too late to prevent the RMG from smashing and destroying the padlocked and barricaded doors of the Capitol in their attempt to arrest Tupas and seize control of the Capitol.

Tupas' voice broke as the TRO was read aloud and the crowd of supporters broke into cheers and applause.

As I had earlier pointed out in another column, Puno must be able to explain clearly and credibly the Ombudsman order and provide the needed opportunity for filing of an appeal or a request for TRO.

The danger of the situation involving local officials is precisely because the local constituents feel more attached to their leaders rather than just the tenuous ties that bind national officials with their local sympathizers.

And, if you have a series of similar incidents like that in Iloilo, there is likelihood that ultimately could spark a wildlife that will be more difficult to handle because of an overstretched police force.

Instead of automatically defending his policemen, Puno should put his ears to the ground and assess whether the complaints against overbearing policemen and officers have basis or not. And in the case of the Iloilo Capitol incident, the television shots caught the RMG doing what they were not supposed to do.

Mejorada was right. Not even under the worst conditions of Martial Law did he undergo what he underwent at the hands of the police last Wednesday afternoon at the provincial capitol.

I hope the Tupas group does not relent from its avowed determination to file the necessary charges against the erring policemen and officials. About time the law is applied.*

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