Dirty politics rearing its ugly head

Two years after the much-publicized raid on the house of former Pulupandan Mayor Magsi Pena, a case has been filed by eight men against their arresting officers.

Surprise, surprise, none of the eight is the former mayor, which begs the question why?

But then again, knowing how cunning a lawyer Magsi is, this counter-charge against the officers who conducted the raid in his home has been well-thought and timed rightly.

If the public can recall, the raid resulted in the discovery of high powered firearms and explosives which the eight men now are saying were actually planted by the raiding team since the firearms recovered were all legally licensed.

And it doesn't matter that the firearms were discovered within the compound of the Mayor's residence and not within the security office for perhaps, the area was being used as a firearms repository?

The fact, too, that those are very high-powered firearms makes me wonder how complex their clientele must be to warrant such armaments to protect them.

At any rate, if cases were indeed filed against the officers, then let's see how justice will proceed from here. In the first place, the PNP had no one but themselves to blame for the laxity in issuing licenses even for firearms already classified as weapons of war.

The complainants also alleged that there were politicians behind the raid and I wonder whom they were referring to.

I barfed at the thought of the eight men saying their complaint should “serve as a lesson and stern warning to policemen not to abuse their powers and hide behind their badges.”

I think they were actually barking up the wrong tree but then, your guess is as good as mine – will we ever see real justice in this case? Or will it be another lesson of Justice System 101 – he who hath the power and the money can just get away with murder.

With elections near, this case may very well have an implication, not just on our local politics, but on how serious this administration is against goons and guns.

The morale of the PNP has been very low since our President allowed his buddy to head that office. This new case can very well set off another round of unhappiness among the ranks and I hope the leadership does not abandon these men in uniform for doing their jobs, or worse, sell them off.

Now just the other day, I was talking about how Love Negros seems to be hell bent on forging a merger with the United Negros Alliance and with the latter saying they have not closed their doors on that possibility as well.

Again I say, make up your mind. Perhaps this new development should make them rethink their position. Does UNA even want to open their party up to more questions? Who would be included if that merger will push through? Do they really want to be identified with some members of Love Negros?

The time is ripe for UNA to say something about it. The time is now for their leadership to take a stand. Enough of the guessing game.*

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