Is vigilante justice the new trend in the Philippines?
Cebu City’s newly elected mayor is offering PHP50,000 to individuals who can kill criminals, including those involved in drugs and theft, Inquirer reports.
Mayor-elect Tomas Osmeña said that he wants to reduce crime rates to ensure the safety of the people in Cebu. He emphasized that the killing must be legal and the gun used must be licensed.
As an example, he cited killing the suspect during the actual commission of the crime.
“What is important is that the robbers will be scared. I am just giving them a warning,” he said.
For wounding criminals, the reward is much lower at PHP5,000.
Osmeña said that the cash reward won’t come from the city’s funds. But when probed about the source, he reportedly said, “It’s none of your business.”
A day after the mayor’s announcement, an off-duty policeman shot two suspected robbers along Archbishop Reyes Avenue.
PO3 Julius Sadaya Regis was the first benifeciary of Osmeña’s cash rewards offer. He will get a will get a hefty P55,000 reward
for shooting dead a suspected robber and injuring another, Cebu Daily News reports.
(Update: An update from Cebu Daily News says that the two robbers were only injured. Regis got PHP20,000 —PHP5,000 for each wounded robber and a PHP10,000 bonues for working off duty.)
If the police officers want the PHP50,000 reward, they must sharpen their shooting skills, Osmeña said.
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