By Ben Rosario

Lawmakers Friday called on President Rodrigo Duterte to make police assigned to secure the “Traslacion” procession pay for the “brutality” they inflicted on devotees and a media reporter covering the event.

Deputy Minority Leader and Bayan Muna Representative Carlos Zarate, together with Assistant Minority Leader and ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro and Bayan Muna Rep. Eufemia Cullamat, also called for a full scale investigation into the violent behavior of police officers assigned to maintain peace and order and secure devotees at the Black Nazarene procession last Thursday.

The three lawmakers also condemned the behavior of Police Brig. Gen. Nolasco Bathan, who snatched the mobile phone of GMA-7 reporter Jun Veneracion who was video-recording the physical force inflicted on devotees by policemen.

Manila Bulletin messaged key members of the House committee on public information for their comments but none, including its chairman, Kabayan Rep. Ron Salo, responded as of this writing.

Making matters worse for Bathan was Veneracion’s claim that the video recordings on his mobile gadget were deleted.

“We condemn the excessive force imposed by the Philippine National Police (PNP) on Black Nazarene devotees causing injuries and devotees not being able to fully engage in their religious practice,” Castro said.

She noted that instead of protecting the devotees and keeping order during the procession, the policemen “strangled, manhandled, and illegally arrested” a number of Black Nazarene faithful, while the snatching incident was clearly an attempt by Bathan to cover up the alleged police brutality committed against the devotees.

Zarate and Cullamat also assailed the PNP for the violence it allegedly “unleashed” on the media reporter and the devotees. They called for an investigation into the incident.

“We have seen numerous pictures and videos pointing to the undue violence by police officers against devotees. In some pictures numerous policemen were strangling a devotee and in others they manhandled a devotee and arrested him,” Zarate said. “Though this is not surprising anymore with the Tokhang (drug war) killings, illegal arrests, planting of evidence, and extra-judicial killings, the PNP it appears is out for blood even during this occasion of faith.”

Cullamat said the city policemen committed a glaring violation of human rights in the same manner as their counterparts in the region.