The deployment of policemen to secure the burial of the baby of urban poor activist Reina Mae Nasino was a call of the situation and therefore justified, the chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Wednesday.
PNP chief Gen. Camilo Pancratius Cascolan said how the burial was secured by the Manila Police District policemen was just part of the job of the law enforcers.
“Situations are different from each other. Our policemen would respond depending on the situation,” said Cascolan.
Various groups and individuals criticized both the PNP and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) over what they described as "overkill" in securing a grieving mother.
Various memes highlighting an alleged double standard in securing detainees went viral in the social media, emphasizing the government’s alleged special treatment for politicians who were accused of plunder and mass killings.
Nasino was arrested in November last year in a raid on the office of an urban poor group. She and two others were charged for alleged possession of a grenade, which the accused said was planted.
Nasino gave birth to Baby River in July but was separated from her baby the following month. The baby was then left in the care of the grandmother. Baby River died early this month due to respiratory illness.
The incident drew sympathies from various people, except for some officials who called the incident a drama. A government spokesman was severely bashed in social media over what netizens described as heartless and unintelligent comment over the incident.