(Eagle News)–Senator Risa Hontiveros has filed a bill that seeks a probe into the recent spate of killings in Negros Oriental.
In urging the committees on public order and dangerous drugs, and justice to investigate in Senate Resolution No. 47, Hontiveros noted that the killings were “an easy and chilling example of the violence against civilians that has flourished under the culture of impunity and lawlessness in the country.”
“It is this that has made the Philippines the 4th most dangerous country in the world for civilians,” she said, adding that the killings took place within “spitting distance” of police precincts, or in the houses of the victims.
“These murderers seem to fear nothing and no one: Completely assured of their impunity, unconcerned by the consequences of the lawless violence they instigated, and indifferent to the anguish they left behind,” Hontiveros said.
“It is through this lens that the PNP should examine the effectiveness of their Oplan Sauron and whether they have successfully neutralized individuals or groups that were suspected of lawless violence or acts of terror,” she added.
On Thursday, Aug. 1, President Rodrigo Duterte vowed to do “something drastic” to address the recent killings of at least 17 individuals in the province.
Those killed included four policemen and a lawyer, among others.
