The video showing the alleged cover-up to spare a police sergeant tagged in the P6.7 billion drug haul in Manila last year is sufficient proof of the wrongdoings of members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) in the footage, Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos said.
“In law, there is the principle of res ipsa loquitur. The thing speaks for itself. The video in itself is a statement of what transpired,’’ Abalos said in a message.
Res ipsa loquitur is a doctrine in the common law and Roman-Dutch law jurisdictions under which a court can infer negligence from the very nature of an accident or injury in the absence of direct evidence on how any defendant behaved in the context of tort litigation.
Outgoing PNP chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. insisted that there was no attempt to spare Police Master Sgt. Rodolfo Mayor Jr. from any liability in the October 2022 P6.7 billion Manila drug bust.
“While I respect Gen. Azurin, I am sure he agrees with me that the public deserves to know the truth. Hindi lamang sa isyu ng 42 kilos kundi higit sa lahat sa kung ano ang nangyari sa 900 kilos (of shabu) na nakumpiska (This is not only about the issue on the 42 kilos but this is all about all, what happened to the 900 kilos that was confiscated),’’ Abalos insisted.
Abalos stressed that he trusts that the National Police Commission (Napolcom) will “investigate thoroughly as per its mandate.’’
In a press briefing on Sunday, April 16, SITG 990 head Police Maj. Gen. Eliseo Cruz pointed out that more shabu were stolen as evidenced by the complete CCTV footage they got in the course of the probe.
But Azurin urged Abalos not to depend too much on the information being fed to him.
“Let me call the attention, also of our kind Secretary of the Interior and Local Government, the honorable Benjamin ‘Benhur’ Abalos, Jr to take a second look on the people who may be feeding him with misinformation to cast doubt on the integrity of the PNP organization which is under his authority,” Azurin noted.
“While I join the good SILG in the fight against erring personnel in the police force, let us not lose focus on the real enemy here, which is shabu and the drug syndicates,” he added.