(Eagle News)– Chief presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo insisted that the spate of killings were not done by law enforcers, but are caused by drug syndicates silencing their cohorts who could possibly reveal their identities.
“Ang nakikita natin ngayon ay patayan between syndicates. Iyan ang lagi nating i-emphasize at nakakalimutan ng lahat na iyong mga nasa sindikato–unang-una nagkaka-onsehan kaya nagkakapatayan,” Panelo told reporters in a chance interview.
“Pangalawa, more importantly I think because of the surrender [of those] pushing drugs, natatakot ang mga hindi sumu-surrender na ituro sila so inuunahan na nila. At iyon namang mga magtuturo siyempre ready na ipagtanggol ang sarili nila o kaya na nagkakapatayan. Iyon ang totoo doon. ” Panelo explained.
He also argued the impossibility of the ‘ambush’ killings under police operations.
“Kaya hindi ako naniniwala na ang pulis ay involved kasi iyong mga pulis na involved, nakakasuhan eh. It only shows that this government is not tolerating the abuses of policemen in the course of arrest,” he stressed.
Panelo further explained that even the families of the slain victims know the truth behind their deaths.
“The fact na walang nagrereklamong pamilya … Iyong mga sinasabi mo [nagrereklamo na pamilya], police ang involved, at dinemanda na iyon. Pero members ng sindikato, walang nagrereklamo. Sila-sila iyon. Alam nila. Pati pamilya nila alam na involved ang kamag-anak nila.”
