Day of reckoning

By the time final judgment is rendered in the criminal cases filed against the policemen who killed Albuera mayor Rolando Espinosa in his Leyte jail cell, Rodrigo Duterte will no longer be president.

Presidential pardon can be granted only after final judgment is rendered. Duterte has five years and three months left in his term. If the courts, from the regional trial court to the Supreme Court, can complete with finality within that period the adjudication of the cases filed against the 19 cops led by Superintendent Marvin Marcos, it would be a miracle.

In fact it would be a record if a ruling on the case could be handed down during Duterte’s term even by the regional trial court.

Also, the compulsory retirement age in the Philippine National Police is 56. Marcos and several of his co-defendants in the double murder case could be past PNP retirement age by the time a final ruling is handed down, so they can’t look forward to a promotion if ever they are cleared.

President Duterte, a former city prosecutor, is familiar with the process, so he must be aware that his announcement that he would pardon and promote Marcos and the others could be nothing more than an empty promise.

For a serious offense such as double murder, the penalty could be life in prison, in which case the convict must spend a few years behind bars before he can qualify for a presidential pardon. Depending on the sentence, he may not even qualify for pardon. So Du30’s promise of immediate pardon upon final judgment may also be empty.

PNP members should bear this in mind in waging the bloody war on drugs. Murder is a capital offense and (for Catholics) a mortal sin.

There will be a day of reckoning for the continuing mass killings, and when it comes, President Duterte won’t be around to save his cops.

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PNP members certainly appreciate this President’s much-repeated pronouncements that he has their back. Fighting criminals can be a tough, thankless, dangerous job. We’ve seen the brutality and mercilessness of criminals, especially members of kidnapping and carjacking rings and, yes, drug traffickers. They have tortured their victims, burned them to ashes, and committed murder in ways that would make Oplan Tokhang proud. There are also offenders who have committed the worst atrocities while high on drugs, such as raping and then torturing to death six-year-old girls.

When cops use force to deal with such offenders, they risk not just life and limb but also years of litigation plus human rights complaints. When this happens, the cops rarely get financial or legal support from the PNP even for legitimate law enforcement operations. This has changed under President Duterte, and cops appreciate it.

But it’s one thing to support legitimate law enforcement, and another to coddle and promote those who break the law.

Duterte could even end up in prison with his cops if criminal charges are filed against him once he loses his presidential immunity from suit.

This may not be a problem for him – Dirty Rody keeps saying he is ready to go to prison for fighting the drug scourge. Plus he’ll be approaching 80 if ever he is indicted; he would have lived a full life and no one can take away “president” from his résumé.

But rotting away in prison can be hell for younger men with families to feed, with even their pensions and retirement benefits forfeited due to a criminal conviction.

Du30 can’t even save the Albuera death squad members from their criminal indictment and what looks like the end of their career in the PNP.

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What the President can legitimately promise is promotion for those who continue to wage his war on drugs and criminality.

Still, a promotion becomes useless if a police officer abuses his authority and faces a complaint for summary execution, torture, arbitrary arrest and detention and other gross human rights violations.

In the age of the internet and social media, such abuses quickly become known, and authorities come under pressure to impose sanctions on erring PNP members.

To their credit, top PNP officials have not hesitated to act against cops caught abusing their authority. Even when the President publicly commends the cops for a lethal job well done.

For all his promises of supporting those who wage his war on drugs, President Duterte is also allowing prosecutors to do their work.

In carrying out his brutal war, Duterte is asking a lot from the PNP. This must be why he is constantly reassuring them of all forms of support, promising that they would stay out of jail and he would be the only one, if ever, who would land in prison for the mass killings.

Cops must know their law and recognize this as bluster. Of course they could end up behind bars for murder; there is no such thing as one man absorbing everyone’s punishment.

If cops are unfazed by the threat of eternal damnation and the fires of hell, or condemnation from human rights groups and the paper tiger that is the Commission on Human Rights, they should ponder their fate when President Duterte is no longer around to defend them.

They should consider self-preservation. And they should always remember that they are tasked to enforce, not break the law.