A Novel way of solving cases

On the media killings.

From the PDI Editorial:

The Inquirer count puts the number of leftist victims since since 2001 at 256, but that number excludes those who had no formal affiliation with leftist organizations. But no matter how they died, and no matter how they are classified, the one irrefutable fact is that they are all dead -- hundreds of them, and still counting.

And there's another indisputable reality: Very few among them have gotten justice.

Razon, however, said the police have already solved many of these cases. For instance, he said, out of 26 cases where journalists were killed for reasons related to the practice of their profession, 21 have been solved.

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, which puts the toll at 46 media people, has challenged that claim, noting that only a few cases have ended in conviction.

But Razon said that as far as the PNP is concerned, a case is officially considered solved once the suspect has been identified and charged in court. It does not matter if the suspect has not been arrested, he added.

It's a novel way of solving cases, and it certainly simplifies police work. Just identify the suspect and file charges (maybe trumped-up ones?), and you can stamp the case "solved." If the case is so weak that the charges are thrown out by the prosecutor or the judge, it will remain closed as far as the PNP is concerned. And the aggrieved should presumably take it at that.

Novel indeed.