Yet again, we are met with news of another allegedly isolated police shooting case. After police master sergeant Hensie Zinampan shot dead a 52-year-old mother, Lilybeth Valdez, last Monday at a storefront in Barangay Greater Fairview, Quezon City on May 31, Monday. According to the witness, the police were under the influence of alcohol, and the root of the conflict began way back on May 1 when the police sergeant had a fistfight with the victim's son. The police sergeant was then arrested and taken to the Quezon City Police District last Tuesday. With a video recording of the incident, it was clear as day how Zinampan pulled the victim's hair and unhesitatingly shot Valdez through the neck that caused an instantaneous death to the victim. It is unfortunate that we face another news of the killing of innocent life – to see another victim of the systematic violence rooting within the police and military system governed by higher powers.
Oddly enough, this incident was reminiscent of the shooting in Tarlac last December, where a police officer also unhesitatingly shot a mother and son dead after a conflict. Fortunately, it was video recorded. While last week, May 24 – another case of police shooting was reported after an 18-year-old Eduardo Arnigo was also shot dead, who was allegedly arrested at a police operation against illegal cockfighting in Valenzuela City. Conflicting reports have been taken from the family and the local police district. The family stated that Arnigo had autism, therefore, would not have fought back to allegedly take the police's gun that would have ended in the victim's unfortunate demise.
Whatever the case is, it is evident that cops would not hesitate to shoot their guns towards anyone. These roots to how the president himself give too much power to the military and police ordering them to shot and kill as a form of corporal punishment to those who would be against him leading to impunity. Whatever the event is, the president had always given orders to shoot and kill – the war on drugs, terrorism, and even the pandemic when the enemy is a virus unseen by the naked eye. To say the least, Duterte's only knowing solution to the never-ending continuous vicious cycle of problems the country had face is to shoot and kill, which is ironic to the issue on the West Philippine Sea. Duterte needs to set his priorities straight and know where to place his all knowingly "kamay na bakal".
While the current administration does have something to contribute to these events, history tells us impunity have existed way back even the past administration with the "tanim-bala" cases. But these recent cases, who are one after the other, shows us how the current administration propagates these accts.
The violence is now deeply ingrained in the police and military system. Those who are known to protect us are now the cause of fear and danger among civilians. One of the cases is Arnigo's shooting case; the family had stated that the victim himself would nowhere go near any policemen as he is afraid of them. To think that this is what a regular civilian think is morbid enough that we should be asking, what kind of teaching has been ingrained to those who enter the police and military forces for them to have the audacity and confidence to act like they can put a gun to anyone's head.
Maybe it's time to stop the trend of machoism within those who enter the police and military forces. We rely too much on patriarchal ideas of strongman that those who enter these professions lack the compassion and have lost their senses as to what it really means to serve the country and the nation. The systematic violence is rooted in rather than having to serve the nation, is to fill their egos. Those who do end up being on the police line becomes self-serving officers thinking they are above anything with guns in their pockets, and with the help of those who tolerate such practices continuing the cycle of impunity and violence in the institution. The police forces have officially been the caricature of themselves.
There have been too many incidents involving police and the death of a civilian for it to be an isolated case. While not all cops are bad, but if the impunity continues to succeed within the system, then the statement might as well be true. Illustration by: Vincent S. Abbang #Inform
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