EDITORIAL – Last chip in collapse of dominoes

That by-now-controversial video footage of several plainclothes policemen finishing off suspected carnappers following a shootout in Metro Manila is shocking only to the extent that we now have proof of what we have long known but could not prove.

And that is that finishing off criminal suspects is not beyond our policemen from doing. Indeed, finishing off suspects, a sort of coup de grace, is lame compared to actually executing suspects summarily, which we all know the police is also very capable of doing.

But what is it really that drives supposed agents of the law to do things that are in clear violation of the very same laws they are supposed to enforce and protect? Where has law enforcement in this country gone wrong?

To be sure, it is unfair to tag the police as a solitary figure in the dismal overall picture of law enforcement in the Philippines. Indeed, it is but just the last chip to fall in the collapse of justice system dominoes.

Maybe because it is the police that is most before the public eye that makes policemen particularly harassed by society's incessant demand for both protection and preservation of law and order.

But deeper into the core of the problem lie several layers of equally, if not more, culpable parties in the gnawing demise of justice in this country, yet are not as readily in-your-face when it comes to public accountability.

When anything goes wrong in the justice system, it is almost always the police that gets the brickbats even if, away from the public eye, greasy-handed prosecutors and judges are just as guilty.

To be sure, those who finished off the suspects should not be allowed to go scot-free. It is not our intention to defend an indefensible act, especially by people in government who, by reason of their jobs, enjoy undue advantage over ordinary citizens.

But along with condemnation must come deeper analysis of what went wrong and how we go about repairing the damage. This country must take stock of what eventually drives a policeman to just act as prosecutor, judge and executioner instead of going through the whole legal process.