There is no place in Northern Mindanao for policemen in Maguindanao linked to the November 23 massacre of 58 people by the Ampatuans and their henchmen.
Reports they have been transferred to Northern Mindanao has fired up opposition of the region ending up as dumping ground for killer cops.
Congressman Rufus Rodriguez, echoing public sentiment against the transfer, said there is need to check if the policemen are involved in the mass murder of the victims that included 31 journalists.
Reports said 31 policemen from the volatile Maguindanao province have arrived to replace the Regional Mobile Group which has been reassigned to Maguindanao, after the entire police force of the province was placed on the freezer after the gruesome killing.
It would be a gamble to have policemen who are killers and rapists patrolling our streets, said Rodriguez. Investigators said some policemen had been involved in the worst political violence in the prelude to the 2010 May elections.
The victims of the mass slaying in Shariff Aguak included the wife and two sisters of Buluan vice mayor Esmael Mangudadatu, a political rival of the Ampatuan clan.
They were on a convoy to file the certificate of candidacy for Maguindanao governor of Mangudadatu when they were stopped by armed men led by Datu Unsay mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. Charges of multiple murder have already been filed against Ampatuan Jr., his father former Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan Sr., his brother Zaldy Ampatuan, governor of the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), several other Ampatuan clan members and militiamen who served as the Ampatuans’ private army.
The lawmaker’s reaction is but among the various responses generated by the transfer of the Maguindanao-based policemen, some of whose colleagues are implicated in the massacre of 57 people in Ampatuan town last November 23.
The policemen arrived at Camp Alagar here over the weekend, but their assignment is still unknown.
Rodriguez said the policemen need to be checked for their involvement in the massacre.
“They must be subjected to debriefing and undergo the moral recovery program of the Regional Police Office. We don’t want to take chances, said a police officer who begged anonymity.
Cagayan de Oro Mayor Constantino Jaraula however said public apprehension may be unfounded.
Jaraula said he also believes that the policemen are not implicated in the mass murder and were reassigned to Northern Mindanao because of our moral recovery program here.
“Also, the Philippine National Police (PNP) is national in scoop—policemen can be reassigned to anyplace at anytime. That’s something we cannot prevent,” he added.
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