EDITORIAL - Scalawag in the ranks

The latest development concerning Bella Ruby Santos, the fugitive former bar girl who stands accused in the abduction and murder of a little girl, is far more disappointing than it is encouraging.

Instead of news that her capture is imminent, we are instead told that the reason she has managed to stay always a step ahead of the police is because she allegedly has an insider under her employ who tips her off about police movements before they occur.

While the lawyer of the police has denied the allegation, it nevertheless explains why, despite the close monitoring to which Santos was subjected, she in fact managed to fly ahead of the issuance of a warrant against her.

Her flight caused a lot of red faces among police officials in charge of monitoring her whereabouts. But no theory of a police spy ever surfaced then. If the police could be accused of anything at the time, it was merely for sloppiness.

But now, in face of such serious allegation, it all seems to make perfect sense. For how could Santos, whose face has become very identifiable from all that media exposure, manage to virtually vanish into thin air unless she had a little help from friends.

What truly hurts in this case is the fact that it is not even the fault of Santos. If she can get away with paying somebody, anybody, to help her elude the long arm of the law for as long as she can, a person in her predicament would do precisely just that.

It is the alleged involvement of a police insider that makes this whole episode a painful matter. It is as if we have been stabbed in the back. If true, this is treachery of the highest order.

The allegation must be investigated and the truth found out, no matter who gets hurt. The police cannot allow itself to be undermined in such a manner. The soul of that little girl cries out for justice. This is what should drive the police to get the scalawag within their ranks.