Vice President Sara Duterte's declaration that there should be no mercy to criminals does not mean that the police must resort to extrajudicial means.
This is how Police Gen. Rodolfo Azurin, Jr., chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), interprets the statement as he insists that rule of law must prevail in the conduct of police operations against criminals and in crime prevention measures.
"There are a lot of context on the statement 'no mercy to criminals'. It could mean no mercy to criminals by arresting them and put them in jail. That's part of no mercy to criminals," said Azurin.
"It does not mean that we go to the extent of the insinuations of other people. Those are subject to interpretations and on our part, we will be very basic. rule of law," he stressed.
Duterte issued the statement in a meeting with security officials when she was appointed as caretaker of the country during President Bongbong Marcos, Jr.' first state visits to Indonesia and Singapore.
On the part of Azurin, he declared during his first days as PNP chief that there will be second chance for criminals as he wants the PNP to value the preservation of life. He stressed that he would rather see criminals suffer the consequences of their actions rather than killing them.
“Some are insinuating that some (criminals) have to die. But my point of view is that when you kill a criminal, we just ended the suffering at the very instance,” said Azurin.
“But when we start investigating, filing cases and arresting these criminals at place them behind bar, if they still have 30 years to live in this world, then they would wake up everyday regretting the crimes they did to the people,” he explained.
Azurin, however, said that he would meet the Vice President.
"Definitely, I have plans to see our VP whether she is OIC (officer-in-charge) or not. I have to see the VP not just as the country's number 2 (top leader) but also as Department of Education Secretary because DepEd has an important role as far as peace and security is concerned," said Azurin.
This is the reason, according to him, while he pushed for the launching of the PNP's project dubbed as Kasimbaynan, which is the partnership of the police, community and the Church in the peace and order.
"This highlights the synergy and collaborative partnership between the PNP and the general public through the intervention and help of the religious sectors towards the goal of a holistic transformation that involves the PNP and the community it serves and protects," said Azurin.
He said the PNP sees the altruistic influence of religion in the enrichment of the police organization’s finest culture and traditions of law enforcement as it inscribes into the hearts and minds of PNP members the purest principles of morality.
The project that was launched on Monday, Sept. 19, involved the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), the Imam Council of the Philippines (ICPI), the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches of the Philippines, Inc. (PCECI), and Kaisa Para sa Kaunlaran, Inc. (KAISA)/Movement for Restoration of Peace and Order (MRPO).
"This symbolizes awareness to the various communities that we in the police service and the people we serve have a vital role in contributing peace, order, and progress," said Azurin.