Paputok Para sa Pasko: A Story of Christmas Brutality

Editorial

(TRIGGER WARNING: violence, murder, death)

Bang. Bang. Bang, These were not the sounds of the bamboo cannon that Sonya Gregorio and her son Frank Anthony had ignited to welcome the fast approaching Christmas celebration.

In a video recording of the incident, Sonya and her son were shown sitting down, posing no threat to the policeman Jonel Nuezca or his daughter who was also in the scene. Sonya responded to the policeman’s young daughter, who was antagonizing her, with what could be described — at worst — as sarcasm. In response, the policeman shot her in the head, shot her son shortly thereafter, then once again shot the dead woman’s corpse out of spite.

This shooting was not Nuezca’s first. The cop is still under investigation for homicide charges filed in 2019 and in May of this year. And Nuezca is far from alone; earlier this year, policemen shot and killed unarmed Army veteran and PTSD sufferer Winston Ragos, among very many others.

The problems with Philippine law enforcement are systemic. Even if, as their apologists claim, the policemen that perpetrate these atrocities are a minority, the fact remains that their comrades do not stop them and their leaders defend them; this makes the “good cops” complicit, accomplices to the many crimes of the “bad cops.”

Take for example Jonel Nuezca. He had a history of misconduct in the police force, including two dismissed cases of homicide. Given the track record of the Philippine National Police (PNP), especially under this administration, it would not be unreasonable to question whether these two homicide charges truly lacked evidence, or if the evidence was buried by the “good cops.” Jonel must have felt like he could have gotten away with this murder; can you blame him? He got away with the previous two. (By the way, yes, you absolutely can and should blame him.)

The first instinct of the PNP is not to take accountability for their flaws, but to deny them. Even the Malacañang calls this case an exception (one of numerous; they seem to be pushing the scope of the word “exception.”), saying that policy cannot be formulated based on aberrations. This logic is flawed; wildfires are aberrations. Cancer is an aberration. Formulating policy that takes the worst case scenario into account and attempts to address it should be the least we expect from government policy, especially when human lives are at stake.

Clearly, the PNP will not resolve these issues internally. We cannot expect an institution to fix shortcomings that it does not acknowledge it has. But it has shortcomings in droves; a lack of training and mental health evaluations for officers, a lack of accountability, and far too much ease escaping punishments for gross misconduct.

The only way to end the bloody streak of violence, impunity and that the police of this country have maintained for years is a complete upheaval of the institution itself; every single cop must be evaluated for their fitness for duty. If they pass, they must receive new training emphasizing de-escalation and nonviolent resolution of conflicts. The leadership and organizational structure must be rebuilt from the ground up. Funds must be reallocated from the police to investments in local communities, which unlike extensive patrolling and iron-fisted punishment has been proven to decrease crime rates.

Some have taken to calling this murder a crime of passion. Indeed, passion was the spark, but the crime would not have happened if this murderer had been trained properly, or if he had been suspended and punished for his previous crimes. Passion is no excuse; it must be tempered by reason and data-based solutions. Reason will tell you that an officer of the law should never shoot two unarmed and nonviolent citizens. The data shows that authoritarian and disciplinarian methods do not reduce crime rates in the populace, but rather increase it among law enforcers.

Let reason and data guide this country towards passion for change. Cops must be held accountable. The culture of impunity and brutality in the police force must end. We demand better, more humane law enforcement; it’s the least we could do Sonya, Frank Anthony, and the countless others who have died at their hands.