Written by Crystal Peralta
A MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION: Who do we call when the police are the murderers?
Recalling a few of the horrible encounters that involve the name of the police in the Philippines, such as the case of Sonia and Frank Gregorio, who were shot point-blank after a heated argument with policeman Jonel Nuezca and the recent incident of shooting Edwin Arnigo, an 18-year old boy with special needs who was allegedly involved in a scuffle. It’s hard to digest how these acts of inhumanity have been normalized. What’s startling is that the former case’s murderer Nuezca was dismissed and Arnigo was mentally handicapped to defend himself. It’s such a heartbreaking recall how the people who wear the uniform signifying protection and safety are the ones who instill fear. In this case? To whom will we seek help when the police themselves, are the cold-blooded killers of the masses?
Violence among the policemen became a habit. These acts of abuse of power and brazen impunity are rooted in how this administration mollycoddles the state force. Just weeks ago, a 52-year-old woman faced an instant death after Police Master Sergeant Hensie Zinampan, under the influence of alcohol, unhesitantly shot her in the neck. Zinampan unbashingly denied what he did but it was clear as day how he pulled Valdez’s hair and pointed the gun, pulled the trigger, bloodshed, and the screams of the children were heard in the footage taken. Pondering how confident Zinampan was in his initial refusal, Lilybeth’s death could have been another “isolated case” without the video.
After the footage where Zinampan pulled out Lily Beth’s hair and shot her on the neck, some child-like voices shakingly asked, “magtawag ka ng barangay…” It has always been an instinct that whenever these scenarios happen, people immediately call the police, but what if the policemen are the suspects? It’s more blood-curdling when he didn’t even flinch as Lilybeth’s body trampled on the ground, he left her there, bleeding like a stuck pig. A question to ask here, was he too used to killing before that made him so emotionless shooting a lady,or was he confident enough to kill a woman because the administration would gloss over his actions?
What the master says, the slave follows. President Rodrigo Duterte began to be the trailblazer of impunity since the year of his reign where he ordered the police his “permission to kill” during the heart-rending war on drugs. President Duterte even confirmed in a 2016 interview of British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), that he once killed three men while he was still the Mayor of Davao City. Recently, his call of action for the violators of the lockdown protocols is ordering the police to “shoot them dead”. Three words yet so powerful to escalate the ego of state forces, to feel high on themselves and to tolerate violence. It’s somewhat hilarious to question why police brutality has become a tradition in the country, when its leader is what enables and commences it.
We are all taught that culture is learned, shared, and adapted. Being raised in a system ruled by tyranny and impunity, it’s logical to say how this farcical tangle of events manifesting brutality became a culture of the state forces. After the spread of the footage, the Philippine National Police Chief Guillermo Eleazar, reprimanded Zinampan in front of the camera, shouting and cursing in front of his face, tugging at his shirt, and pushing him on the wall. The PNP chief uttered the words “hirap na hirap na tayo para ayusin itong organisasyon…” What this administration does not understand is, it should not happen to a person like Lilybeth Valdez to remind the police that it is a form of misconduct to kill. That video berating Zinampan becomes just a mere visual spectacle but there was no proper address as to why these things keep on happening and how this culture of violence is still existing.
In this case, Zinampan violated rules that are ought to preserve life. First is the PNP Ethical Doctrine. It is highlighted in Section 3, that “PNP members should uphold ethical standards such as morality, judicious use of authority, justice, humility, orderliness and perseverance” which Zinampan failed all in a row. Second is the Philippine Constitution, it was stated in Article 3, Section 1 that “no person shall be deprived of life, liberty and property without due process of law, nor shall any person be denied the equal protection of the laws”. It’s ironic to think how a profession of preserving the rights of people becomes its violators. The third is the Law of God, “thou shall not kill”, one commandment denoting God’s superiority among people. They say only God can judge the living and decide which lives should be taken. In this administration, policemen are gods, created by the religion of impunity. As Zinampan decided to pull the trigger, he decided the fate of Lilybeth Valdez.
After the recurring patterns of police violence in the country, members of the state forces still defend themselves by using their ace-card that not all cops are bad. Analogizing this claim, when an apple contaminated with mold goes around with the unblemished apples, the fresh ones would be suspected to be decaying too because they are in the same container. No doubt, not all policemen possess an aggressive abuse of power, but under the same institution governed by a rotten system, it is safe to think that there is no exception.
Lilybeth’s death is not only an addition to the statistics of the innocent lives taken nor a story to just simply empathize with. She is a mother, a grandmother, an impuissant civilian. She could be anyone else that has no capacity to defend themselves. Lilybeth calls for justice, her case demands accountability. She is a clear manifestation ofn how the culture of abuse and brutality have been normative parts of the institution. Lives lost in the hands of those who took oaths in protecting it. Remember Police Master Sergeant Hensie Zinampan’s name but remember Lilybeth Valdez’s name more.
As Lilybeth’s corpse decomposed beneath the surface, sooner the justice will be served only if the master stopped puppeting his slaves. Holding the institution of the police accountable is the bare minimum. Catalyzing a revolution driven not only by the number of lives killed but also the families abandoned is the most to do. It will always struggle but will always persist until the hen’s-teeth justice would be served.
The Catalyst 