EDITORIAL - Buck stops with Purisima

Believe it or not, but the police chief of Cagayan de Oro City may reportedly lose his job for failing to prevent the bomb attack on a bistro in that city that killed several people a week ago today. No proposition is as ridiculous as this one.

The proposition is so ridiculous one is tempted to ask who the bright guy behind it is, except that by now everybody knows the proposition came from no less than PNP chief Director General Alan Purisima himself. To Purisima, appropriate action should be taken against the Cagayan de Oro police chief on account of the bombing.

Wow, if there is an expert at desk-bound fault-finding, it has got to be nobody else but Purisima. It is so easy for Purisima to point a finger at anybody from where he sits. But good if all that fault-finding and finger-point amounts to anything.

From what most people understand, there is no way to foil a determined attacker, be the target a person or a physical structure or a moving vehicle. That security forces could have done better is out of the question. Of course, there will always be perceived shortcomings after the fact.

But pray tell, would Purisima himself even notice anything awry in any and all security precautions then in place all over the country prior to the bombing. To be more specific, was Purisima even aware of any security precautions anywhere for him to be so quick in making assessments later.

If the poor Cagayan de Oro police chief has to be blamed for the bomb attack that not even the pope nor the American president could have foreseen, then Purisima himself should be blamed as well. In fact, the bigger blame should be with Purisima because the attack happened under his watch.

If the bombing should find its way into the history books, it should come under no other heading but the Aquino presidency. And if it happened under the Aquino presidency, then it has got to be under the watch of PNP chief Alan Purisima. The CDO police chief is too insignificant in the scheme of these things.

And that is precisely why, even after admitting the matter is still being investigated, Purisima has already singled out the CDO police chief for possible liabilities. Jesus Christ, Mr. Purisima, sir, what kind of a leader are you to turn against your own men over something for which you are ultimately responsible.

Let it be categorically stated that the buck stops with Purisima. He is ultimately accountable for all domestic security matters within the Philippines. If the CDO police chief is to be faulted for something nobody can guard against, then Purisima should share the bigger fault as well.