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Friday, March 29, 2024

The gunfight

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"There must be deeper, underlying reasons for the PNP-PDEA encounter."

 

It has been almost two weeks since the gunfight between elements of the Philippine National Police and operatives of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency on a parking lot of a shopping mall along Commonwealth Avenue.

Since that time, we have learned more details because both social and traditional media have been busy digging deeper into the real reasons why both operating elements went after each other’s throats. Considering the amount of ammunition expended and how long the firefight was, it is a wonder that only one bystander was reported to have been killed. After the incident, the heads of both agencies promised a thorough and impartial investigation to get to the bottom of the incident.

Lately, however, the veneer of cooperation seems to be disappearing. Let us try to look at some incontrovertible facts. Both agencies from the very beginning have been insisting that both their operations were legitimate. Based also on what has already been reported, it was clear that the PNP was there to buy because money was brought for that purpose. Evidence has also come out that the PNP coordinated with the PDEA twice—the last time was when the PNP requested for an extension as proven by documents obtained by a TV station.

CCTV footage also showed some PDEA elements shouting trying to identify themselves to the PNP elements —but the firefight continued. Did the PDEA office with whom the PNP coordinated inform the operating elements of PDEA that the PNP would be operating in that vicinity? If not, that was a monumental failure on the part of PDEA. If it did, why didn’t the PDEA simply join the PNP elements for a joint operation? That way, the gunfight could have been avoided.

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There must be deeper, underlying reasons for the encounter. The most important question of all, is why PDEA launched an operation when the PNP already coordinated earlier and who in PDEA authorized the operation that resulted in the gun battle. This brings into question what the current Standard Operating Procedures of PDEA in such cases. For the PNP, what was a detained intelligence asset doing participating in a police operation? Why were the PDEA operatives manhandled by the Quezon City police? The PNP and PDEA are supposed to be allies, not enemies. Did the two sides even had the chance to talk before the shootout?

From all indications, it would seem that the firefight was almost spontaneous and instantaneous. All these of course seem to point to a deepening mystery why both operating units behaved the way they did. Other questions that come to mind are: Was it a matter on who gets the glory or credit for a successful operation? Could it be all because of money? In all these, it is possible that one agency is not entirely forthcoming with its facts. It could also be that lower echelon elements are not telling their higher ups the entire story. For one, it looks like the operation was big. This is because the buy bust money allegedly brought by the PNP team was P1 million, which is now apparently missing or seemed to have been replaced by wads of cut papers mixed with some real money.

It is unusual for that kind of buy bust money to be brought in an operation unless the operation is big and intelligence credible. It is therefore safe to assume that the PNP viewed the operation as something special because they renewed their initial coordination when it expired.

The Commonwealth Avenue incident was not the first case of law enforcement elements disagreeing on who should conduct the operation but I do not remember a situation in recent past of a disagreement ending in a deadly shootout. Part of the problem in the anti-drug campaign is money. The amount of money circulating in the illegal drug trade is so mind boggling that the temptation is sometimes hard to resist. It is always an existential problem not only for law enforcement elements but also for other government officials. Credit goes to the officials who can resist but many do fall along the way. This is the reason why we sometimes see corruption as the cause of many problems.

Let us hope that it will not be the reason in this case. The anti-drug campaign is not only a war with the drug lords but also within the ranks of law enforcement agencies. Regardless of the eventual findings of the NBI, there is something that the PNP and PDEA must immediately do. This is to revise their rules of engagement in very crowded urban areas. It is something that both agencies cannot afford happening again.

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