City cops: Vigilantes are not back

CEBU, Philippines - The killing of two alleged robbers last Sunday afternoon does not mean that vigilantes are back in Cebu City, the police said yesterday.

Cebu City Police intelligence chief Romeo Santander said they themselves are totally against vigilantism.

Santander said that because of the vigilante-style killings in the city in the past, the word "vigilante" has somehow become a household name that people easily use to refer to or describe killings.

Still, Santander said they will probe into the incident to determine the motive of the shooting. The suspect remains unidentified.

"It is far from the mode of pagpatay sa vigilante," he said. 

In fact, according to him, they are currently checking the background of Francisco Bencila and a certain Garbo to check if they are indeed as alleged, robbers. "We are still validating the background sa duha ka biktima… ato silang gitagaan og benefit of the doubt," he said. 

Santander said that just like him, Police Regional Director Marcelo Garbo Jr. and Mayor Michael Rama are totally against vigilantism because it is against the law of the land. He said the Philippine National Police strongly detests such atrocious act. The law, according to him, should always prevail and should always be observed by everyone. "We have laws that we need to follow," he said.

Santander claims that the incident is not different from any other similar shooting incident that happened in the city.

"Ang kadto na crime walay kalahian sa laing crime dinhi sa Cebu City - murag gi-pusil mao-mao ra sa uban," he said. 

Though they do not consider the incident as a work of a vigilante, Santan-der urged the public to help in the police's continuous efforts in fighting crimes throughout the city.

"Di namo kaya kun kami-kami lang kay without the cooperation of the public…we should focus towards peace and order kay kun sigi lang silag pahilom wala gihapon," Santander told The FREEMAN.

Santander reminds everyone that they are doing their job for the public, adding that the public should also help them fulfill their mandate to serve and protect them.

Bencila and Garbo were shot by an unidentified gunman in Barangay Tejero after they allegedly recently victimized a woman. This was after the police recovered a pair of earrings from the one of the victim's hand. (FREEMAN)