In an inexcusable example of abuse of power, the mayor of an Iloilo town and his son—a congressman—mauled a policeman that they had disarmed and shackled, simply because he would not do their bidding.
Reports say Guimbal Mayor Oscar Garin Sr. and his son, Iloilo 1st District Rep. Richard Garin had summoned PO3 Federico Macaya Jr. to the town plaza at 3:30 a.m. on Dec. 26. He was disarmed by his own police chief then handcuffed by Garin. The congressman then ordered a bodyguard to turn off the CCTVs in the area.
As the shackled Macaya squatted, the congressman berated and kicked him, while the mayor fired into the air and spat on his face. He later pointed the gun at the helpless police officer and berated him as the beating continued for 45 minutes.
What brought on this savage treatment?
The congressman alleged that Macaya had persuaded a young man not to file a complaint against the son of a councilor over an altercation in the town plaza on Dec. 22, and ignored the policeman’s explanation that the young man decided not to file a complaint for fear that it would alarm his mother who was working abroad.
Congressman Garin later issued an apology that sounded far from contrite.
He said his actions were aimed not at the Philippine National Police as an institution, but at one erring policeman.
“My actions were merely a display of extreme frustration towards one, single PNP personnel, which to my judgment committed a great disservice to the people of Guimbal,” he said.
The police have acknowledged the apology, but said they still intend to file charges of physical injuries, alarm and scandal, direct assault against an agent of person in authority, and grave coercion against the two Garins.
Reacting to the incident, President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered his Interior and Local Government secretary to file charges against the mayor and the congressman, who belong to his own PDP-Laban party.
“Even if the policeman was at fault, it’s not a reason, especially [for] a police officer, to be mauled,” he said.
We agree with the President 100 percent. There is no reason for our elected officials to abuse their power and act like gangster—whether they be mayor of a small town in Iloilo n 2018 or a metropolitan city such as Davao in 2011. That was the year that the President’s daughter, then Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, captured for posterity on online video, assaulted a court sheriff who was bent on demolishing houses despite her request for a 24-hour deferment.
Mr. Duterte—at the time vice mayor—justified his daughter’s actions and said he would tell her to do the same thing over again.
A little consistency, perhaps, would be better. After all, shouldn’t laws and simple rules of civility be applied to all? In the Davao incident, for whatever reason, the sheriff eventually decided against filing charges against the mayor. We trust this will not happen again in Guimbal town.