Tom: I ordered policemen to go after criminals

CEBU, Philippines – Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña yesterday admitted that he ordered the police to cleanse the city of criminals, raising suspicions that he supports the vigilante killings.

In yesterday’s press conference, Osmeña said he gave the order sometime in December 2007 when a wave of bigtime robberies hit the city.

“My concern is peace and order in the city and the welfare of the constituents. Naabot sa point sa una nga criminals have no fear and the police were just doing nothing. So I told them go after the criminals and I’ll give you a reward,” Osmeña said.

He said after his order, he just learned that persons with criminal record were started to get killed allegedly by the vigilantes.

However, he did not say that the police were responsible for the killings.

“When I came back from a vacation in Manila, I think 10 criminals were killed within eight days and then I said unsa man ni...but nibalik ang kalinaw,” he said.

Although it has been two years since the killings, Osmeña still warned criminals that they have no place in the city.

“I don’t like to give an assurance with the criminals that it (Cebu City) is safe for them, dili ko ganahan ana,” he said.

The vigilante issue was revived when Cebu Archdiocese spokesman Monsignor Achilles Dakay said that he believed businessmen paid the vigilantes to go after the criminals.

It can be recalled that more than 200 persons with criminal records were killed in the city since 2007. —Ferliza C. Contratista/LPM (THE FREEMAN)