By Ellson Quismorio
Militant congressmen on Friday slammed Philippine National Police (PNP) chief-turned-senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa for supposedly "trivializing" the death of a three-year-old girl during a police operation in Rizal.
Sen. Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa (Bato dela Rosa FACEBOOK / MANILA BULLETIN)
Bayan Muna Party-List Reps. Ferdinand Gaite and Eufemia Cullamat were referring to Dela Rosa's controversial reaction to the minor's unfortunate death, saying that "shit happens during operations."
"Nakakagalit ang ganitong mindset na tinitrivialize ang buhay ng mga tao lalo pa ang mga bata (This mindset wherein the lives of people, especially children, are trivialized angers me)," Gaite said.
He blamed the PNP's "tokhang mindset"--which according to him is pre-disposed to the concept of operational short-cuts like "kill, kill, kill" and "nanlaban (resisting arrest)"--for Dela Rosa's faulty outlook.
For her part, Cullamat frowned at how this same mindset has been used by law enforcers to get their way despite spilling blood in the countryside.
"Ganitong kaisipan din ang ginagamit ng kapulisan at militar sa mga probinsya na kahit sino na lang ay dinadakip o pinapatay tapos sasabihin na mga rebelde o kriminal na nanlaban. Madalas na mga katutubo at mga magsasaka ang mga biktima ng ganitong mga pangyayari," she lamented.
(This same mindset is used by the police and military in the provinces wherein they abduct or kill anybody they want only to say later that they were rebels or criminals who resisted arrest. Indigenous peoples and farmers are often the victims of these events.)
"Ang ganitong kaisipan ay dapat na talagang mabago sa mga pwersa ng pamahalaan upang tunay nilang igalang ang karapatang pantao at di puro pagpapanggap lamang (This mindset should be changed among government forces so that human rights would truly be respected and not just for show)," Cullamat stressed.
Authorities are now looking into the death of three-year-old Myka Ulpina, who was allegedly used by a human shield by his father, Renato Dolorfina, during a police buy-bust operation in Rodriguez town on Sunday.
Dolorfina and an undercover police officer in Senior Master Sgt. Conrad Cabigao were also killed during the incident.
Sen. Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa (Bato dela Rosa FACEBOOK / MANILA BULLETIN)
Bayan Muna Party-List Reps. Ferdinand Gaite and Eufemia Cullamat were referring to Dela Rosa's controversial reaction to the minor's unfortunate death, saying that "shit happens during operations."
"Nakakagalit ang ganitong mindset na tinitrivialize ang buhay ng mga tao lalo pa ang mga bata (This mindset wherein the lives of people, especially children, are trivialized angers me)," Gaite said.
He blamed the PNP's "tokhang mindset"--which according to him is pre-disposed to the concept of operational short-cuts like "kill, kill, kill" and "nanlaban (resisting arrest)"--for Dela Rosa's faulty outlook.
For her part, Cullamat frowned at how this same mindset has been used by law enforcers to get their way despite spilling blood in the countryside.
"Ganitong kaisipan din ang ginagamit ng kapulisan at militar sa mga probinsya na kahit sino na lang ay dinadakip o pinapatay tapos sasabihin na mga rebelde o kriminal na nanlaban. Madalas na mga katutubo at mga magsasaka ang mga biktima ng ganitong mga pangyayari," she lamented.
(This same mindset is used by the police and military in the provinces wherein they abduct or kill anybody they want only to say later that they were rebels or criminals who resisted arrest. Indigenous peoples and farmers are often the victims of these events.)
"Ang ganitong kaisipan ay dapat na talagang mabago sa mga pwersa ng pamahalaan upang tunay nilang igalang ang karapatang pantao at di puro pagpapanggap lamang (This mindset should be changed among government forces so that human rights would truly be respected and not just for show)," Cullamat stressed.
Authorities are now looking into the death of three-year-old Myka Ulpina, who was allegedly used by a human shield by his father, Renato Dolorfina, during a police buy-bust operation in Rodriguez town on Sunday.
Dolorfina and an undercover police officer in Senior Master Sgt. Conrad Cabigao were also killed during the incident.