IBP to House: Probe killings

The number of people killed by the so-called vigilantes in the city has already neared the hundred mark since late December last year, prompting a group of lawyers in the city to call for a congressional inquiry that would help address this "utter disrespect for the rule of law."

The Integrated Bar of the Philippines-Cebu City chapter has approved a resolution asking the House of Representatives to step into the matter in the wake of apparent failure of authorities to resolve or stop these summary executions of people with criminal backgrounds.

The resolution would be submitted to Rep. Etta Rosales, House human rights committee chairman, hoping that the issue would also be tackled on a larger scale, which might include summoning Mayors Tomas Osmeña of Cebu City and Ramon Duterte of Davao City to testify.

Former IBP-Cebu City president Democrito Barcenas told The Freeman that it is up to the House panel to include the two mayors, who he said have not been known yet to have adopted a strong resistance against this method of killing.

But the two cities should not just be the points of the inquiry but any other place in the country as well where such killings may be happening, said Barcenas. The gist would be to find ways to put a stop to this "barbaric and unconstitutional" acts, he said.

Osmeña, when told about the lawyers' move, said the IBP can do anything it wants but he clarified that he never endorsed vigilante killing, as claimed. He asked instead why lawyers are giving more importance to slain robbers than the victims of robberies.

The mayor then wryly said, "Some IBP members are losing their income because their clients are dead," apparently implying that dead robbers no longer need services of lawyers.

But Barcenas tagged the mayor's statement as highly irresponsible.

"That is such a highly irresponsible remark which should not be dignified by any response. Mga pobre man intawon ang gipamatay; wa intawon kakwarta ang mga abogado ana (Those killed were poor people, and lawyers never made money from them)," he said.

Osmeña told reporters further, "The best compromise here is for robbers to get out of the city. If they want, let the robbers go to Talisay City para wa nay samok diri sa siyudad (so there would be no trouble in my city)."

Meanwhile, the National Bureau of Investigation started last Monday its probe on vigilante killings, as ordered by the Justice Department, and is now at the stage of establishing first a pattern through collated physical evidences common in all 94 killings.

NBI regional director Medardo De Lemos said his office might even subpoena suspended policeman Adonis Dumpit, if necessary. There have been raw data that Dumpit was injured in his attempt to allegedly kill ex-convict Alemar Luna in barangay Buhisan two months ago.

Luna survived the slay attempt when he was able to return fire at his attacker. Since then, Dumpit disappeared from Cebu, with allegations that he went somewhere else to recuperate from his injury.

But Dumpit vehemently denied these reports, in several telephone interviews with him, saying he has been in Davao tending his farm while serving the one-year suspension imposed upon him by the Ombudsman Visayas.

De Lemos also said the NBI has been contacting the families of the victims to determine whether the killings were perpetrated by the so-called vigilantes or merely out of personal grudge.

In view of the prevailing public suspicion that some law enforcers could be behind the killings, De Lemos said the NBI would not hesitate to file charges against anybody found as such.