The first Peace and Order
Summit here in Cotabato City initiated by the Sanguniang Panlungsod and
presided by City Vice Mayor Honorable Muslimin G. Sema. The event was held at
the 3rd level of South Seas Mall here in Cotabato last November 29,
2012 and started at around 9:00 am and lasted up to 4pm.
The activity was supported
by the concern agencies like city police, city jail, CIDG, NBI, City Prosecutor’s
Office, Religious sectors, civil societies and too many to mention.
I would say it worth
attending, knowing what is the real status of the peace and order here in the
city and the suggestions, comments and reactions of the people both direct or
indirect affected and by the people who had been a victim of street crimes and
other form of criminalities.
Below is the speech of Vice
Mayor Hon. Muslimin G. Sema in verbatim.
COURTESIES
Greetings
of Peace!
My
task today is to present to you the key issues and concerns pertaining to the
peace and order situation in the City.
Let
me start with dissecting the elements of what we mean by peace and what we mean
by order. When we say peace we refer to it as a state where we one experience:
1.
A
state of harmony or friendship
2.
A
state of being free from danger, violence, disturbance or injury at home or in
public places
3.
Harmonious
relations between people or groups and freedom from disputes and strife
4.
Law
and order within a state
Order,
on the other hand refer to a condition when people follow prevailing laws.
Based
on the peace and order briefing provided to us by our law enforcers a while
ago, from January to November 25, 2012, a total of 97 shooting incidents were
recorded by the city police. Of this number, 59 were killed. On the 97 shooting
incidents, 27 cases were solved, 70 remained unsolved while 15 cases have been
filed in court.
27.8% 27 cases solved with 55% or
15 cases filed in court
72.2% 70 cases not solved
100% 97 cases 60% or 59 victims were killed
When
a case is solve what does it mean? The city police explained that a cases has
been filed with the City Prosecutor’s Office. If the City Prosecutor finds
probable cause in the case filed by the City Police, then it will be submitted
to the courts for appropriate action. In other words, out of 97 cases only 15 cases
or 15.4% have been filed in court.
This
is a very sad situation mainly because the police appear to e helpless in
combating the shooting and killing incidents in the City.
The
reasons for the low accomplishment have been attributed to the usual
1.
Lack
of manpower, logistics etc… The 1st MBLT have been deployed in the
city upon request of some sectors to augment the city police. So manpower can
no longer be an issue. The PNP Headquarters and the SP through the City
Government provides funding for logistics to the city police. So logistics may
not be a valid issue.
2.
Lack
of witnesses to help in identifying the suspects – Now, this is very important
issue because it is indicative of the level of trust and confidence of the
community on the law enforcing sector and the justice system.
You know the SP staff tried to get in
touch with victims of criminalities in the city. Unfortunately not even 1 was
willing to speak about the injustice they have suffered because they are afraid
that the suspects will retaliate if they say something. So they have decided to
suffer in silence. Some victims of killings, hold ups, snatching, carnapping
and other street crimes have been decided not to report the crime to the police
because they perceive that nothing good will come out of reporting the matter.
They are afraid that the suspects who remained unidentified and at large will
hit back at them if they report to the police and that the police will not be
there to protect them when they need protection. In other words, they have been
terrorized by the criminals that freely roam the city. Therefore, it is also
possible that the number of shooting incidents is higher that what was recorded
by the city police.
3.
The
reported absence or seeming unwillingness of possible witnesses to help the law
enforcers identify the culprits of the shooting and other criminalities have
led law enforcers to consider the suspects as “unidentified and at large”. This
is probably one reason why many cases are lost along the way. (hanggang dito na
lang ba ito?)
Of the 97 shooting incidents reported
earlier, suspects for 81 of these cases were classified under this category. If
you have been suspect for 81 shooting incidents, who up to now, remain
unidentified and at large, how safe would you feel??? You cannot simply expect
witnesses to come out in the open to identify who and what they saw specially
if they are aware that the suspects are still at large.
4.
In
implementing the law, everything starts with law enforcement. If the law enforcer
fails to perform their role by filling the necessary cases for violations of
the law, then the entire process of dispensing justice will grind to a halt.
The City Prosecutor’s Office will now have the cases to investigate and review
and will not be able to forward any case to the Court who in turn cannot render
judgment on a case. Without a court decision, criminals will remain free
instead of being put in jail. In the end, all of us will suffer.
This is our present situation now.
We must collectively decide how to face
this problem so that we can once again bring back order in the city.
We must be able to recommend a
framework so that we can stop the criminality happening in the city.
This is our challenge for today’s
summit
