MANILA, Philippines — Despite the assassination of two mayors in a span of hours, Malacañang insisted yesterday there is no culture of impunity in the country and instead blamed the killings on groups out to discredit President Duterte.

“There is no culture of impunity in the Philippines as we do not condone any state-sponsored killing,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque said in a statement.

He said the Duterte administration upholds the rule of law and remains focused on “securing and restoring order in the community.”

Some lawmakers, especially from the opposition, decried the killings, saying they reflected the breakdown of the rule of law.

Tanauan City mayor Antonio Halili was shot dead Monday by an unidentified assassin from a grassy knoll more than 100 meters away from city hall grounds where he was leading a flag ceremony.

The next day, mayor Ferdinand Bote of General Tinio, Nueva Ecija was also gunned down as he was leaving the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) office in Cabanatuan in his sport utility vehicle.

Halili, who gained notoriety for parading lawbreakers as part of his shame campaign, was on the drug list of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).

Bote was not on the list.

“We continue to adhere to the rule of law and consider the recent killings of high-profile figures as an attempt to erode confidence in the President, whose main platform of governance rests on fighting crimes,” Roque said.

In remarks before air force officials and personnel after Halili’s killing, President Duterte linked the mayor to the drug trade and said the latter was only using his shame campaign as a front.

The late mayor’s daughter Angeline, however, denied his drug links and said the President might have been given wrong information.

Akbayan Rep. Tom Villarin, a member of the opposition, has accused Duterte of encouraging the killings, citing the President’s assurance that he would protect law enforcers and soldiers pursuing his war on illegal drugs.

But Roque made it clear government forces could not be deterred from performing their duty of securing the people.

“Our people have acknowledged the President as ‘the protector of people,’ as evidenced by surveys giving him high satisfaction, approval, trust and performance ratings,” the presidential spokesman said.

Roque assured the public that the police are “sparing no effort” to find and capture the killers of the two mayors.

The government, he emphasized, is also committed to bringing Halili’s killers to justice despite the President’s suspicion that the mayor was into the narcotics trade.

“Do not worry. No matter what you hear, if there are incidents of killings and violation of the right to life, it is the obligation of the state to do everything to investigate, prosecute and punish the perpetrators to strike fear in the hearts of killers,” Roque told radio station dzRH.

“When you say suspicion, that means he is not really sure. But I assure the daughter of Mayor Halili that the government will do everything to investigate and determine who is behind the killing,” he said.

Gun control

Also voicing concern over the spate of killings was Sen. Panfilo Lacson, who called on the Philippine National Police (PNP) to come out with measures to control the movement of loose firearms.

“When will this stop?” Lacson said. He stressed the burden is on the PNP to put in place stricter firearms control measures as there are too many people now carrying guns in every part of the country.

“There is a proliferation of loose firearms. And not only loose firearms, every Tom, Dick and Harry (is carrying a gun),” he said.

Back when he was still PNP chief, Lacson said he had vigorously pushed for stricter firearms control as he felt even then that too many people were carrying guns outside their homes.

But he said the public in general should play a significant role in eradicating loose firearms in the country.

According to Lacson, the problem is that Filipinos have somehow grown accustomed to seeing or being with people walking around with guns.

“This is just about the only country in Asia where any person can move around with a gun. We just assume immediately that these people are policemen. The assumption should be the opposite – that these people are probably criminals,” Lacson said.

He said there should be a change in the attitude of Filipinos so that they would treat people carrying firearms as criminal elements.

As far as Lacson is concerned, only members of the police and the military who are in uniform or agents in civilian clothes performing covert operations against criminal elements should be allowed to carry firearms.

Lacson said he does not see yet a breakdown in peace and order, but “we could reach that point” if the PNP continues to be negligent.

Sen. Gregorio Honasan agreed that the public should play a major role in addressing criminality by reporting suspicious figures or activities to the police in their respective communities. – With Marvin Sy