“We, the disenfranchised . . .”
Where have all the protesters gone, long time passing? To the killing fields, every one. When will we ever learn? When will we ever learn? [Photo source: Inquirer]
Many will likely read this blog wrong. They will read that I am against the Durerte Administration. Wrong, wrong, wrong. I dearly want the Administration to succeed. But I don’t want it to be on the backs of the poor and the weak and the sick and the innocent. I want it to be in a way that brings pride to the Philippines, for being a modern, fair and compassionate nation.
__________
There is a new disenfranchised class in the Philippines. I belong to it. Perhaps you do, too. This is not a class along citizenship lines, or income lines, or religious lines. It is a class that holds values called humanist. It is a class that cares about others, even drug addicts, who are themselves disenfranchised.
They are disenfranchised from the courts of their land, from real justice as we know it under the rule of law.
Here is a very short story about the new, government-sanctioned brand of justice in the Philippines:
“Please don’t shoot me, officer.”
“I see those drugs over there.”
“They aren’t mine. I don’t use drugs.
Bang!
And that is not yet enough for the executioners . . .
Bang! Bang! Bang!
That’s the way it is, in the Philippines, 2016.
But here are the values of the newly disenfranchised class, as expressed by a great thinker who just passed to his promised land:
You who are so-called illegal aliens must know that no human being is ‘illegal’. That is a contradiction in terms. Human beings can be beautiful or more beautiful, they can be fat or skinny, they can be right or wrong, but illegal? How can a human being be illegal?
Elie Wiesel, Nobel Peace Prize winner and holocaust survivor
What part of beautiful do the executioners not grasp? What part of our essential humanity that Elie Wiesel was talking about do they not get? What part of our essential human innocence are they blind to? They are thinking that drugs lead to crime? That needles lead to aids? That drugs pervert our humanity? That kids are at risk? That is their thinking?
That humans are animals, and can’t be taught? Can’t be cured of illness? Can’t find hope? Can’t change?
Change!
Change!
The slogan of the executioners! They deny it to the most hopeless amongst us, the friends and family and acquaintances who turned left when they should have gone right. Who were down and did drugs. And did it again. And again . . . until there was no way out.
Bang!
No change for you, pal.
But that’s not even the worst of it.
It takes a whole government to disenfranchise a class of people. One guy with “kill” on his mind can’t do it alone.
There are checks and balances. A legislature. Courts. Ombudsman.
Have you read about when the Congressional committees will start investigating the summary executions that are flowering across the nation? Flowering like stink weed, or like tough, stringy vines that will eventually choke the life out of our humanity?
When does the Senate investigation start? The House investigation? Who tallies the number of deaths? The share of innocents among the dead? Is that a part of the FOI promised to us? Who investigates the cops who do the executions? Can the Ombudsman investigate really serious, mass murder kinds of crime, or just tiptoe politely through the plunder?
When do the investigations start?
When, oh when do the fucking investigations start??
Oh.
I see.
No investigations.
What we hear instead are the enabling words, the coddling of the beast, the willingness to do his bidding.
The silence of the righteous, the most cowardly enabler of them all, is so loud. It is so loud to us, the disenfranchised. We have to cover our ears. Sometimes we even weep, at what we see. What our nation has become.
Meanwhile . . .
- Senator Angara tweets about basketball trades.
- Senator Aquino ducks his head and opens another Negosyo Center.
- The Senators Cayetano feed the beast, tossing women into the maws of insult and denigration.
- Portly Big Senator Drilon backs a re-write of the Constitution. “Here, beast, have a big chunk of raw meat! We’ll empower ya!”
- Senator De Lima raises her voice and is shouted down, threatened. Neutralized.
- The Chairman of the Human Rights Commission protests, and the press stops covering it. They are afraid.
- Vice President Robredo is trapped between her loyalty to President Duterte and her humanity. Paralyzed.
- Ex-candidate Roxas and former President Aquino are trapped by their dignity. Paralyzed.
- Senator Santiago is busy backing those who want to jail the former President, the guy who is also a humanist, the guy who did so much for this nation.
There are no representatives speaking for the disenfranchised class.
A huge cut of decency within the Philippine nation has been carved out, and set aside to rot.
Unrepresented.
The disenfranchised, the humanists among us, have no voice except the wee little protests they raise in stupid blogs or Facebook protests that zap off into the internet ether, pop like a little firecracker, and disappear into a black nothingness.
There is no organized protest because so many are afraid. They fear the executioners. Or they have joined them.
That’s what happens to the disenfranchised when they are really, really disenfranchised.
They know that if they raise their voice, they become the targets of the executioners and their mindless minions who chirp off insults and threats across the internet board.
But, I tell you what, there is another word for our humanity. It is called heart. It can be subdued, but is rarely broken. The Philippines has great heart. Filipinos have great heart. Humanists have great heart.
Beware when those with heart recognize their own survival is at stake.
There is no beast quite as dangerous as a pack of cornered humanists with no way to turn but against their captors.
Choose your sides well. Do that. You are free to choose:
The executioners.
Or the heart of the humanist Filipino.
Today you are free to choose.
___________________
Postscript: Today, July 7, 2016, legislators from both the House (Rep. Teddy Baguilat) and Senate (Sen. Lila De Lima) said they will file resolutions to begin investigations into the large number of drug-related deaths occurring across the Philippines. JAs Rep/ Baguilat put it:
“Today, I file a resolution asking Congress to investigate the increasing extra judicial killings and PNP kills of suspected drug criminals.”
JA
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The Society of Honor by Joe America 
Thanks joe.
The silent need to be called out.
Yes, go down the roster of Senators and Reps, by seniority.
“Sir, Ma’am. What kind of nation do you wish to represent?”
There are calls for the LP to group as the minority in the house of representatives, one from the Rep Baguilat and from Edsel Lagman who was excellent as a minority leader. It now makes more sense for those who will remain with the LP and its coalition to be the representatives for the new disenfranchised.
I understand the PNoy and Mar will be laying low for a while and out of the radar. They both need a well deserved rest.
Ah, thanks for that point of view, Adrian. I just wrapped up a blog dealing with that and it will be out, ohhhh, in a week or so I guess. Maybe sooner.
joe america can you pls. shut your mouth and stop flowing block propaganda, toward pilipino citizen you are not helping the crises of the phillipines. you and your opinion making more crises, thank you.
Gloria, you are rude.
And your thinking is inside out, but I know you don’t have the capacity to understand that. You are free not to read, I am free to speak. I suggest you just go away.
Gloria deserves moderation for trolling. I don’t want her rant.
I appreciate the feedback, LG.
I appreciate the feedback, LG.
Welcome Joe. Hey, are’nt you supposed to be airborne or driving this weekend?
Being unpredictable.
hey joe! your always twang my heartstrings with your blog. because you always write from the heart. always. maraming salamat.
You’re welcome, rofodl. I’m glad you find the articles meaningful. Regards . . .
..salamat joe… it’s time to hear again the sound of silence… loud and determined… NEVER AGAIN!!! NEVER FORGET!!!
Hi, dodie. I’m not really a part of the “never again” push, as it is too political for me, and in this article am mainly concerned with the indiscriminate (?) killing of druggies, or people who are supposedly druggies. It was raised to just short of a rage by the apparent call for the NPA to go ahead and execute drug suspects.
For thinking Filipinos or for even foreigners living in the Philippines right now, this “presidential decree” of eradicating drug merchants and user addicts by all means necessary is a very scary thing, makes one sleepless, worried, feeling unpleasant, especially when there are no more investigations, no more due process, no more complaints from relatives out of fear, no more prosecutors handling the cases. 16 million voters had not envisioned this dangerous situation and this includes smart leaders like Cayetano, Ramos, Pimentel, and a bunch of turncoats.
It is for sure out of step with international norms of civility. The shock is that so many supposedly dignified leaders seem unconcerned. Wha? What world is this when the entire idea of human rights can be tossed under a bus and the tossing defended as necessary. If it is necessary, we haven’t been trying hard enough.
Drug industry kills thousands and corrupts many in power. It is a national sickness, a goliath of a “salot” to conquer. It requires major surgery (lotsa blood) to disable and destroy it. But having said that, it doesn’t mean I’m not in agreement with you, Joe. I’m very concern with the rules of engagement aspect, the abuse going on (like killing even suspected users) and the lack of real active opposition. Disturbing indeed.
Seems like a very slipper slope to me.
I had an opportunity to talk to a respectable policeman regarding Pres. Duterte’s stand against drugs before the election. Accordingly, they have list of suspected drug pushers on hand however, these pushers and users (specially the big time) were like “palos” or cat fish. The police force knows where they are yet couldn’t arrest and bring to prosecution because of our slow and poor justice system. Crimes are parallel to drug use,he said, and escalate every day while procecutions wait for years. Our justice system makes them a laughing stock of the drug pushers. To catch many cat fishes,one has to put live electric wire in the water. Never mind other living creatures in such horrific action. In his words, he puts the blame on the judges not on the pushers or users.
But why do we have to resort to violence when it can be solved by our most intelligent men? If Joeam contends that we have heart and that it can’t be broken, then our paralysis is caused by stroke therefore a different medicine is needed.
What I wonder about is – why was this seemingly not discussed in public forums?
This is the key to why everything has escalated – and one reads practically nothing about it from over here. What did the Aquino administration do or not do about this and why?
So tabloids have their use after all.
irineo, check the online version of Abante.
Some links to drug related articles from ellen tordesillas.
http://www.ellentordesillas.com/tag/alabang-boys/
Precisely. Thanks for the real world background, Thea.
Thing is the killings started right after election and before du30 was sworn in. Of course he inspired them but under the circumstances he cannot be held officially accountable for them. He can still throw responsibility for the killings to PNoy. But starting July 1st any further killings will be his responsibility. Let’s watch the body count from that date.
Who’s identifying the dead? Where will these records be available to journalists? Is the PNP keeping count, even? Is it auditing the deaths to distinguish legitimate defense from out right murder? Does the PNP have a service motto anymore, or just self-defined authority to take anybody out? When will they switch to gas chambers?
The Philippine Daily Inquirer has a section called “The Kill List”; from inquirer(dot)net:
Editors’ Note: The surge in the killing of suspected criminals since June 30, 2016 has been marked and unmistakable. Most of those killed were identified by the police as suspected drug dealers or pushers (“tulak”). This KILL LIST is an attempt to document the names and other particulars of the casualties in the Duterte administration’s war on crime; it will be updated regularly. To date, the list includes 13 dead who remain unidentified and five who are identified only by an alias; we are seeking other ways to verify identification. In time, we will also publish the list of suspected criminals killed between May 10 and June 29, 2016 (the post-election transition period), as a separate Annex.
Yes, serious journalism. Kudos to the inquirer and John Nery. Also the researchers who are named at the end of the article. Superb work.
hi joe, ill give you an example,if a tomor ( going to cancer) still have to cure, and the last chance is to operate as soon as possible so it must be cut and put away so, You Survive,thats happened to me. capito.and that is pres. Duterte now,practising to save more people from the republic of the phillipines mostly the next ,next generation.i thank you.
Lacson can not do the senate investigations,The PNP chief was his man in PAOCTF,and he himself was accused of summary execution before,so that leaves Risa Hontiveros,let us wait maybe she will file a resolution to investigate. Let us wait for privilege speeches.
Trillanes is pro dealth penalty for drug pushers,but I don’t believe he is for killing just for killings sake.He may be quiet for now,but definitely he is not the silent type.
I hope I am unfairly pre-judging and am found to be mistaken. I will apologize to those legislators who recognize there must be a check and balance against what appear to be violations of citizen constitutional rights.
Same question as before.Do we have enough facilities for rehab?
You can not just feed them to the fish in Manila Bay.
Now is the time for Tito Sotto to talk.
Legitimate question. I’ve not researched punishments for drug offenders, or how long it takes to acquire a verdict. My guess is punishments need to be firmed up and courts sped up. Rubber stamp them. You are in a room with 1/4 kilo of x, you get five years of labor building freeways. Chain gangs.
maybe he will sottocopy facilities.
3d sotto copy printers! Great!👍🏻
He will jumpstart the Philippine 3D printing industry.
Fantastic.
Is “substance rehab” a DOH priority? Somebody’s advocacy? Even known as a recourse for those who are sick of it n want to quit, cold turkey, tired for lack of dough to sustain, but failed, so robbers, murderer they had become???
Criminals, they are not, these drug abusers, until….
Preemptive drug crime-related solution, only in the Philippines?
Majority of rehab facilities are not public. If we even have some in our midst (there is one in my hometown, private, not cheap, know of others in the province) at the rate drug users are surrendering, they will easily fill up, if rehab is offered, that is if public.
I imagine buildings housing surrenderees, turning to like Muntinlupa; residents wards of the state, taking a chunk of the annual budget.
Poor them, drug users surrendered for life. Are families prepared to take them back in, if that deep into drugs? What if the family depends on their drug pushing? What if familyless or homeless?
What about wealthy drug users? Employed drug users? Heads of families drug users? Should they be scared, should they get pointed at by their foes?
I choked up reading this article, way it was masterfully written.
Implied, if not clearly .The drug user of illegal drugs (not of prescription drugs) likely being shot or to be shot is poor, ignorant of his rights and entitlement to justice (if he even believes that he has and is), young, undereducated, lives with stigma and descriminatiin since birth, sees no future for him, a pleasure or adventure seeker for thrill and/or to numb pain of the heart and mind. Some are known by neighbors to be good kids, helpful, and kind…when sober. Some by nature, barumbados, untrustworthy, laging problema sa pamilya. Can the shooter choose which one to point?
Then the innocents who can easily be mistaken just because they live in the wrong neighborhood, keep the wring company, or had only tried ‘it’ once or thrice. Does he deserve the bullet?
I am not aware of best practices in illegal drug abuse reduction n rehab. Perhaps there are.
I should add…while at it….
Agreeably, prevention continues to be suggested to be the best practice… PARENTAL MONITORING, based on US longitudinal data on adolescent risk behaviors (which includes alcohol n illegal drug use, among others) to be the best predictor for non-use of alcohol and illegal drugs among US adolescents, regardless of SES.
I am inclined to believe that parental monitoring would be the best protector, as well, for Filipino adolescents from the noted above addicting substances.
👍Joe for writing the article. Now!
Thanks for the suggestion. I can tell you found the article thought provoking, and that’s good.
I’m thinking of a title, ummmm “Alternatives to the slaughter of errant Filipinos”.
Or, alternatively, “Moms, Dads! You’d best know what your kids are up to!”
👍 to the alternative title. More relatable, nice ring.
Per an old (1970’s – 80’s) TV ad campaign in the US:
Judging from the current conditions in the US today, I don’t think this little PSA (Public Service Announcement) had the desired effect.
Depending on the government to do the job of parenting is, and always will be, a HUGE mistake. There is no replacement for the absence of a strong and healthy family structure. The erosion and breakdown of the traditional family structure can be directly linked to virtually all of the ailments that plague society today. This is NOT a uniquely PH problem, the same destruction exists worldwide and is on the increase. Addressing this core cause should, and must, be the main focus of any strategy to correct and/or improve a nation’s well-being and long-term survival. If and until effective measures are implemented, all other sectors are simply symptoms of the root cause and must take a back seat.
The enormous difficulty and complexity of implementing and accomplishing such a lofty undertaking outweighs and overrides all other priorities. First things first. The survival of the nation literally hangs in the balance.
To date; The US government “war on drugs” (initiated in 1971) has cost American taxpayers well over 1 Trillion dollars, it has been an abysmal failure. Drugs are cheaper and more plentiful than ever before. Drug abuse and the market it supports will never end, there will never be a day that some level of illicit drug trade does not exist worldwide.
America’s failed 4 1/2 decade long, trillion+ dollar campaign stands in stark contrast to Duterte’s claim that he will eradicate drug trafficking in PH within 6 months of his election. This is probably the clearest evidence of Duterte’s utter ignorance and ineptitude. Only a fool would make such a ridiculous claim, and only a supreme fool would call for his own execution should he fail to fulfill his own sophomoric campaign promise. Duterte better hope the Philippine people didn’t take him seriously on either count.
It is a true shame that Duterte does not even begin to recognize the enormous opportunity that stands before him. And based on his childlike approach to what he describes as
“inclusive nation building”, the people of the Philippines and the world, can not help but to expect a monumental disaster to befall them.
As a very wise man once said;
“Government is not the solution to our problem, government IS the problem”.
~Ronald Reagan~ 1981
“Socialism is a disease” ~Sir Ernest Benn~ 1950
https://fee.org/articles/socialism-is-a-disease/
“When the situation was manageable it was neglected, and now that it is thoroughly out of hand we apply too late the remedies which then might have effected a cure. There is nothing new in the story. It is as old as the sibylline books. It falls into that long, dismal catalog of the fruitlessness of experience and the confirmed unteachability of mankind. Want of foresight, unwillingness to act when action would be simple and effective, lack of clear thinking, confusion of counsel until the emergency comes, until self-preservation strikes its jarring gong. These are the features which constitute the endless repetition of history.”
~Sir Winston Churchill~ 1935
Those who do not learn from history, are doomed to repeat it. Let us all hope that the inevitable failure of Duterte’s “reign” will soon usher in the much needed and long desired period of prosperity the Philippines so richly deserves. Buckle up folks, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride!
I get the sense you are a bit out of sync with our President here in the PH, Doc. I’m in sync with you, though.
“An immodest proposal”.
Hahaha, I like . . .
Oh yeah, I recall now. Portugal n Amsterdam have been noted in the TSH site to have relatively successful national drug rehab programs. Would they work in our culture?
Dear Joe:
I have not commented in your blog for a very long time, but I do follow your posts.
This morning, while waiting for my ride to work, I thought of the Duterte Administrations recent programs and actions: inviting VP Robredo to an event and finally agreeing to meet with her; reforming the health care system into something with Cuban goodness; the plan to issue an EO for the Freedom of Information Act; and, creating a committee to investigate media killings.
All good, yet I told myself that I still cannot vote for him if an election were to be held today. Was I just being stubborn because my “chickens” lost? Hanging onto my pride and denying that Duterte may really be good for us? I don’t know…
Then my mind segued into a fictitious Comic Con event in the Philippines in which the writers and artists of Batman, Arrow, Superman, Capt. America, etc. attended. Of course, our writers and artists for homegrown heroes were there, too, and were, in fact, the ones who invited the foreigners.
These writers and artists were talking about something which moved me so much that I blurted out, “Why doesn’t Batman kill? Or Superman, Arrow, etc.?”
There was a surprised silence until the head writer for the Batman series answered me thus: “Because there are many ways to catch and keep a criminal in jail—forever, if need be. Killing for these heroes is a last resort.” I stood up and applauded him. I was teary-eyed.
At the end of the fictitious event, a reporter asked me regarding the tears. I embarrassedly answered: “I was just thinking of my country.”
Beautiful. Thanks for that appeal to Filipinos to have the strength of character to be heroes, real time.
Joe:
Your roster. They are all politicians and are all adept at hiding what their other hand is doing. Perhaps they are biding their time until they have all the facts? Or, they could be moving already among the people to minimize the damage of some of Duterte’s actions? I meant, not confronting him, but countering him nonetheless?
“We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.
The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference.
There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.”
– Elie Wiesel.
So apt.
Thank you, G. Perfect companion quote to the one I used.
I read Self Rehab being promised by drug abusers who surrendered after being processed.
Is self rehab really an option?
I suppose as an alternative to getting shot, they might be inclined to try to break the habit. It probably depends on the drugs and if there is addiction. I have no idea how they can track real results, or what the penalty is for those who fail to come clean.
I hope they can figure it out.
Why not? Maybe. Self rehab depends on some factors, mainly:
A. form of illegal drug dependence?
– physical only (some drugs cause physical dependence only, unlikely)
– psychological only. Some drugs don’t cause physical dependence – likely
– both physical and psychological. Some drugs due to their pharmacology cause both. Hence, highly unlikely.
B. type of illegal drug one is dependent on: marijuana (likely); cocaine, heroin (unlikely)
C. Access and availability of support system e.g. significant others…family, Narcotic Anonymous. If negative, unlikely. Likely, if positive
D. Duration of addiction
Short, new addict – likely
Long, old addict – unlikely
E. Motivation for treatment /rehab
Strong – likely
Poor – unlikely
F, Affordability of rehab
Affordable to the client – likely
Unaffordable – unlikely.
The interplay of the above would determine the likelihood or unlikelihood of self rehab success
Most substance abusers (alcohol, prescription/illegal drugs) find it easy enough to “promise” with or without genuine motivation for expedience, manipulative enough to convince the listener they can do and will do it, but most of the time, end in mutual disappointment.
Those who have tried self rehab or even treatment in a rehab center and found it truly a struggle, despite their motivation, would not promise as easy. Multiple attempts are not unusual.
Because drug dependence and abuse is a psychiatric illness with multiple dimensions (physical, mental, emotional, behavioral, judgmental, financial, social, moral, n ethical), rehab should address each and all dimensions to prevent dropping out of rehab, and even when such is completed, relapse, is not unusual.
If the addicted client has the noted resources that address all the noted dimensions, unlikely in a self rehab mode, but miracles can, do happen.
Attending rehab environment should be optimum for rehab to succeed. As should be the discharge environment.
God bless those who surrendered and promised self rehab. They deserve best wishes for surrendering.
Noted above factors apply also for drug rehab with supervision/assistance by a substance abuse specialist and team.
Thank you for your enlightening take LG!
My pleasure KG.
👍🏻
You must have seen on TV drug users who surrendered in Mandaluyong (?) ‘zumbaing” their ‘required’ self-rehabilitation every Sunday with the regular city group Zumbaers.
Zumba should show efficacy for those not physically dependent or addicted, in short just users. Zumba activates the body endorphins, the antidepressant hormone, so when the Zumbaers report feeling good and having fun, that’s what’s happening.
Dance therapy does work, but not alone in the rehab of the drug abuser. Hopefully, it would among drug users. Minimal cost, can be done alone or in a group anywhere allowed.
Now, those regular Zumbaers noted above, would they stop going because the users had joined them? Hope, they’d be supportive.
Zumba therapy should go national in barangays.. Add foot sports therapy.
Joe, with these executions taking place, something is happening here which I do not understand.
I do not understand why a change in the head of state and the Philippine National Police can unleash such an impact on the streets.
I do not understand how the street level police know who the targets are, those selling drugs, to execute them.
I do not understand how if they knew who was dealing such drugs, they did not arrest & charge them before Duterte was elected.
With so many executions happening so quickly, this feels like there has been an illegal protected drug trade happening for a long while..And now the protection is gone.
I note that thousands of users, sellers & dealers are giving themselves up to the police. What is happening to them afterwards ?
I’d like to hear from Flipinos close to what is happening before making any judgements about it. What are police officers being told by their superiors ?
You are not alone Bill.
A first step is to stop smearing the victims of murder as “druggies” unless there is evidence. There isn’t a shred of evidence in most cases. The media is essentially complicit in ongoing mass murder with their smears.
We can guess that anyone with knowledge of police criminality is getting killed.The innocent bystander to the somewhat guilty. There is a smokescreen for vendettas.
DZMM from Gerry Baja t 5am to Ted Failon and Noli de Castro until 9am – they relish the news – even sarcastically laughing while saying ” So nang-agaw pala ng baril…” and all that crap.
Tulfoism is now a mentality among some members of the press, in which merely reporting crimes aren’t enough, so swift action is often demanded. Instant justice by media.
For instance, anyone who ever filed a case against police abuse, anyone who ever witnessed police abuse, is in maximum danger.
Bill,
One thing: the drug trade will not go away and the protection is not gone. There are far more sinister forces at work here. Let’s not kid ourselves. Davao is a top smuggling area and Duterte’s top financier was the head of the Davao ports. We are seeing a shifting of power and a consolidation of cartels.
Purple, all that you say may be true…But these ‘factors’ were present before the 9th of May and (if so ) would have been operating then..
But that is not the pattern we are seeing. We are seeing sudden upsurge since the 9th of May when Duterte won the election as president.
I repeat that feels to me like drug selling was ‘protected’ in some way before the 9th.And afterwards the protection was gone..And I am not saying or even implying that Aquino was protecting drug dealers..The protection was probably being arranged somewhere down a line of command…But that is a surmise. I have no idea who or how or why..
In some ways this is all distant from me.I do not go out late at night in poor the areas of Manila.
But physically it is close. 4-5 drug users/dealers died in Quiapo this past weekend.And a few weeks ago one local vender was executed close to Isetan one Friday evening. Supposedly he was a journalist.But he had not written anything since February….So his journalism was small & part time..
Again I hope that someone with ‘knowledge’ can provide answers to these questions..
A PS : Today in Australia a gang was arrested for shipping 275 kg of Shabu from Southern China to Melbourne hidden in the floor of a ‘ shipping container’ .The report I saw talks about the police following the money trail to make the arrests of the gang leaders..
So this is a major criminal gang issue…
It is not who protects the illegal drug industry,it is how this ill is “protected” by our justice system in the Philippines. Our Law enforcement agency (PNP) is mandated by law to coordinate with the National Prosecution Service (prosecutors). The problem begins here. The police force must gather enough and sufficient evidence to get a warrant of arrest which is usually not available. Who could enter a house of drug pusher without being accused against the Constitutional Rights of the suspect? Say, they were able to get sufficient evidence to convict but these evidence was gathered without the presence of a public prosecutor,then this case will just go to the waste basket and on and on. In drug cases, conviction rate is measly 7%. A personal account I already shared here yesterday which make me not wonder why drug pushers can roam around even in the vicinity of police officer.
A further reading: http://www.unafei.or.jp/english/pdf/RS_No95/No95_VE_Gana1.pdf
Thanks Thea !
Legal spaghetti !
So the cops are taking short cuts
with bullets
And saving everybody loads of work.
Bill,
http://pinoytrendingnews.net/sec-ochoa-pdea-dir-general-arturo-cacdac-drug-lord-protectors-alleges-ex-pdea-agent/
True or not,we will see.
How higher can you go? that is the mini president they are accusing.
Another hi-profile drug case from the past.And more news links.
http://www.ellentordesillas.com/tag/alabang-boys/
Thanks karl..Will there be a quick thorough trial with witnesses sworn to tell the truth ?
All allegations Re: ex executive secretary ochoa.The recent announcement of Duterte about the Generals has no evidence as of yet and he admitted to that. The National Police commission is promising to hava a report after one week.
This is like a teleserye, and reminds me of movies about drugs, drug cartels, and the like. But the most touching part that I read was this:
“No investigations.
“What we hear instead are the enabling words, the coddling of the beast, the willingness to do his bidding.”
All of a sudden, everyone is kowtowing and agreeing. I cannot understand. I have a bleeding heart and it’s hemorrhaging…and I don’t know what to do…
As I have said before, this is like a nightmare that I don’t know when I would wake up from.
There is indeed change. Change from what I knew as a young child as right. From the commandment that strongly hit me “Thou shalt not kill.”
Okay, I maybe naive, but these spate of killings, somehow, cannot create the feeling of relief and the expression of…”buti nga sa kanila.” Even as I try to ignore the news I hear in the morning when I wake up, that nagging feeling of something really wrong does not go away as I go to work and earn my living as honestly as I can…
the short story started with “please dont shoot me officer”, short story started with an officer pointing a gun, it is a very short story where conclusions are subjective to how did the officer find the “disenfranchised” and pointed a gun at him and how this “disenfranchised” have drugs “over there”. where is the chase? where is that part where the “disenfranchised” ran away? the part where this “disenfranchised” hide away and call for help from his protectors which ironically are the officers? well… unless… these protectors would rather protect themselves by hiding the evidence by killing the evidence that will point at them in the future. its better to have a dead body than have a noisy witness that may blow your cover isnt it?
Right, anon. That story has so many horrifying potential plot twists that one can grow ill contemplating them all.
If there is a lesson from economics, it is that a ‘war on drugs’ typically just increases the crime rate. It addresses the supply side, raising the street price, and inducing more related crimes as addicts feed a habit at the higher price. The higher price can also just mean a bigger payoff demanded for ‘protection.’
Of course, this kind of prognosis can be upended if the demand side were to collapse (from fear etc.), but this depends on whether the small fry who decide to forego the habit were big enough an entity in the illegal market.
It’s an old broken record, but I’ll play it again. If we want to solve the drug problem, look at Portugal where the focus is almost solely on the demand side — on education, rehab, prevention. Of course there’s little bribe money on the demand side, so perhaps this question is a litmus test of how smart or straight are the folks who claim ‘change.’
Thanks for making the point, Orlando. There are ways of stopping drugs other than murdering kids and people who USED TO BE drug USERS or innocent people who just happened to be there.
Only an INSANE leader of a democratic country will tell the Police, Military and NPA to kill fellow Pilipinos.. The ISIS and Abu Sayaf are doing this killings as their way of life, and look what is happening in Iraq and Syria.. Now there is no more opposition, they are all AFRAID… the Media is SILENCE, the Politicians, the Justices!!.. The root cause of CRIMINALITY, Drug Addiction and POVERTY is CORRUPTION.. Politicians who STOLE MILLIONS and BILLIONS from the PEOPLE.
The CORRUPT are STILL SERVING the PEOPLE and the PEOPLE/VICTIMS are SENTENCED TO DIE like ANIMALS!!! VIOLENCE is EVIL… will anybody like TEACHERS and Parents TEACH the CHILDREN OF THE FUTURE to Solve their problem by KILLING EACH OTHER??? ONLY A SICK LEADER WILL DO THIS IN THE 21ST CENTURY!!! What a CHANGE! In a CIVILIZED COUNTRY THIS KIND OF LEADER WILL BE PROSECUTED AND JAILED, for inciting VIOLENCE and telling the PEOPLE to KILL, VIOLATING HUMAN RIGHTS and THE CONSTITUTION!!! P.S. To the Disenfranchised, we must not be afraid and silenced for the sake of our children and their children… .
CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
or the SUPREME LAW OF THE LAND
PREAMBLE
We, the sovereign Filipino people, imploring the aid of Almighty God, in order to build a just and humane society, and establish a Government that shall embody our ideals and aspirations, promote the common good, conserve and develop our patrimony, and secure to ourselves and our posterity, the blessings of independence and democracy under the rule of law and a regime of truth, justice, freedom, love, equality, and peace, do ordain and promulgate this Constitution.
That is as direct as it can be put, Ed. The constitution is being trashed, in its expression of compassion for and fair treatment of Filipinos.
Maybe it will be good to revisit the South African philosophy of Ubuntu and expose Filipinos to its guiding principles.
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Ubuntu_(philosophy)
“A person with Ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, based from a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed” -Desmond Tutu
Ubuntu reaffirms redemption for those who did wrong, not vengeance or punishment. It acknowledges our interconnectedness to others. It looks at globalization as a blessing rather than a curse.
“I am, because of you.”
Community compassion and oneness, for sure is better than gunfire.
In relation to the above comment, the supply-demand side economic factor is now being felt, ironically among scalawags at the police forces and the users-pushers in known drug-infested areas.
And all because of the take no prisoner policy of the the new admin towards drug offenders.
It is an open secret that not all drug offenders caught in the past were charged of drug offenses. Most of them, especially the users, were released after money changed hands.
Police scalawags, through the years, have perfected the method of extracting money from drug offenders by various means, some of which, sadly, are perfectly legal.
But here is the twist. Because of the hardened stance of the government against drug offenders, some police scalawags exploited it to extract more money from drug offenders.
Perhaps, the prohibitive cost dealing with those police scalawags will discourage users and shrink the market.
Or the market might just adjust to the new reality by absorbing the cost rendering the anti-drug campaign ineffective.
I hope the authorities exert their efforts to dismantle first the well-entrenched narco syndicates and their police protectors before embarking in a killing spree.
It can be done, in my opinion, because police scalawags are a tiny portion of the mostly honest and dedicated police officers.
N.B.
In some areas of the metropolis, drug “users” caught by those police scalawags, now have to raise by as much as 80,000 pesos to massage their cases and be released on bail or their cases dropped altogether.
Only some months back, minor users caught have to raise a much lower amount.
Police scalawags are now having heydays.
Yes, the drugs are there, the big pushers unscathed, the risks a little higher, the price up . . . makes sense.
Well, Joe, yours and ours here are voices or cries in the wilderness to add to Senator Del Lima’s. Thereby, the silence of the many is not “too loud” anymore.
Joem/NH,
Keep an eye out for the Congressman from the lone district of Ifugao,Teddy Baguilat Jr. I think he will play an important role in the pushback against Duterte’s authoritarianism.
[BAGUIO City Representative Teddy Brawner Baguilat Jr. raised his objection against incoming President Rodrigo Duterte’s command to lawmakers not to stand in the way of his anti-crime campaign by conducting investigations.
“I take offense with the president-elect’s warning against lawmakers who wish to conduct investigations in aid of legislation on his anti-crime campaign,” Baguilat said.
Baguilat was reacting to Duterte’s statement given in a thanksgiving party last Wednesday.
“Don’t investigate me. The road will end with me. The buck stops here. We are going to have a fight,” Duterte was quoted as saying.
Baguilat believes Duterte’s warning threatens the country’s democratic system.
“Does he wish to entrench an iron rule by dictating what Congress should do, throwing aside the independence of the branches of government?” Baguilat said.]
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/baguio/local-news/2016/06/16/ifugao-lawmaker-rails-vs-duterte-warning-479946
[Ifugao Rep. Teodoro Baguilat Jr. urged his party mates in the Liberal Party (LP) on Friday to join him in the opposition bloc in the House of Representatives.
“It will be beneficial in the long run for the LP to be the opposition and to lead the minority in the 17th Congress. The LP should be the main fiscalizer of the Duterte administration,” he said.
“Historically, the LP has been a defender of democracy and human rights, whether as the ruling party or in the opposition. Even though the party lost the presidency, it’s only logical that we continue to lead the crusade for individual freedoms and collective liberties,” he said.]
http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2016/07/03/1599055/lp-should-be-duterte-fiscalizer-lawmaker
Thanks, Cha. It is good to know there is a voice of moral outrage. If LP becomes an opposition party in a classic sense of principles (human rights, freedoms), the nation will benefit mightily.
Cha,
If you know, is Teddy Brawner Baguilat Jr. descended from a certain General Brawner who although an officer during the Marcos regime has distinguished himself. If the General’s bona fide is ok, then the Congressman may have pedigreed genes on top of his sense of justice.
Did some digging up, Congressman Baguilat’s mother Felisa Brawner is sister to ret Brig Gen Felix Brawner Jr.
It occured to me just now,that I have a grade school clasmmate named Felix Baguilat and I checked his fb account and his middle name (filipino middle name)is Brawner.So he was named after his uncle.(and he is the brother of the congress man pala)
Thanks a lot for the effort, cha. 🙂
Needs a lot more. It needs a congressional investigation, ASAP. For sure, this is approaching Mamasapano proportions, with innocents and kids caught in the crossfire. Why is murder the solution of choice?
Is it just me, or are these comments from President Duterte’s spokesman Ernesto Abella the greatest piece of double-speak . . . nay, triple speak or quadruple speak . . . in the history of the Philippine Republic, and perhaps earth itself?
Can one of our judgment experts kindly decipher it for me and determine what position the Palace is taking on the spate of drug murders?
Thanks for the help, because it seems to me the murders will continue unabated, based on this report.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/794261/drug-killings-alarm-palace
It means he will run out of money if he offered bounty.
This is the rude awakening.
Is it possible to sue the congress for failing to enforce the Constitution?
That reminds me of the Coups,the Military (both sides)keep on saying that they(military) are the protector of the constitution.
Yes, if, in their determination, I suppose, Executive is abusing it and Legislative and Judicial branches have been compromised or rendered useless. I am disinclined to use the impeachment word here, as I am for the Executive branch figuring out that the nation is best served by following the words and intent of the Constitution. It is a compassionate and ‘humanist’ Constitution.
The rude awakening is not bad after all,In China issue Yasay sort of made up for the perceived blooper(i see it as a gaffe) by saying that we are not afraid of anyone and sort of ask me again later speech.
The press report on the killings maybe is a sort of rude awakening as well,I do not know,but I guess more I aint understanding Duterte articles to come.
let us get used to the ambiguity.
“let us get used to the ambiguity”
Yes, in matters of intellectual discourse applied to events that are not yet at the “action” stage.
No, in matters that are in the “action” stage and appear to violate the Constitution’s guarantee of security and fair treatment. Like, when people are being killed and we are right in the middle of a Mamasapano kind of slaughter and ought to try to stop it.
I agree with all points
Who would initiate it,all the usual protesters have their own party list,ok there are also lots of partylists who did not make it,maybe them.
in the states I read that investigations is one of the reasons for a petition to sue congress.
The disenfranchised? I was asking out of a point of curiosity, as I doubt it would ever be done. Most likely, objection will arise properly through the system. In this blog, I am just giving a little nudge in that direction.
I take back and retract what I said about them about diplomacy.They are so ambiguous,and that makes them perfect diplomats,all they need now is to say it in French.
They could speak Klingon, as well. Same outcome, French or Tagalog or English, if the concepts are not based on any decent criteria or principles. I learned that from Edgar.
Emphasis on the word decent.
Yes,Edgar is the guru of us all.
*******
Oh, c’mon, Karl, we learn from each other. You teach me, I teach you. Synergy pa more.
*****
Look at below…..you got pardon my ignorance from me.I used it with RHiro you used it with bendiskurso.
But seriously,thank you edgar.Let us continue to live long and prosper.
When the elite types want to say something indecent they say
pardon my french (insert invective)… They must say pardon my klingon.
Edgar got pardon my ignorance from me.(that’s me buttering up my own bread.)He only used it once.
Yes! hahaha
Sir, you blame the “executioners” who just followed orders of “lawful” enforcement” from the highest authority who is just following and performing the tasks mandated unto him by 16M Filipinos. joeM, your ideas are good andare in fact these were legal and moral standards of modern societies all over the world. BUT TAKE NOTE, CHANGE HAS COME and is happening 24/7. Remember the 16M Filipinos mandated him to complete the job in 3-6 months.
It doesn’t matter what 16 million Filipinos want. It matters what the Constitution says, and what the other 86 million Filipinos have to live with. It seems to me that too many are living with dead bodies outside their door step, and some of them are for sure not the keys to the distribution, the drug lords. It is 19 year old kids and mistaken assassinations and shooting of drug USERS for chrissake.
I would add, that by raising your voice in support of the executioners, you carry the weight of the slaughter of the innocent and ill and people who made a simple mistake somewhere along the line. You become an enabler and an abettor to the degradation of Filipino humanity.
Mr EdD
Tell me, will the enforcers go after Ronald Singson?
JoeM you asked about Ronald Singson?
If he is still on it, I Guess he will be given all the chances to “change” or go somewere else outside the country. But for unknown rich and powerful they may follow the path of the lowly pushers. Exibit A is Davao city.
But again JoeM, ginusto ng voters eto eh. Change has started and indeed in our midst 24/7.
I hope your guess is correct. Where do you find unknown rich and powerful people?In Davao?
I didn’t ask about Ronald Singson, and kindly address me as Joe or JoeAm.
In our democracy, 50+1 wins. You getthe mandate to rule. 86M must respect the rule of the majority in the recent elections.
I love it! the 50+1 rule applied to election winners.
I know digong won not by majority if votes casted but by plurality of votes. Among the 5 candidates, digong got the most number. My use of 50+1 was just context.
ok,now that makes sense.
There is no mandate to “rule”. There is a mandate to serve. All retain the right to speak. None retains the right to violate the constitution.
JoeM, I admire you JoeM super galing ka.
Yeah. Troll it is.
A little math: 16m votes for Duterte. 16m votes over 55 million voters is not 50% + 1. Even more so if you use 16m votes over 100 million population.
Get your math straight, and your definition of majority. How in the world is 16M a majority over the other 86M?
joeM, the variables in ur math are wrong. You know that Only 54M are registered voters. The rest is history.
In many other countries there are run-off elections between the number 1 and number 2 to determine who has the real majority.
I suspect it would have been tight between Duterte and Roxas, with most Poe supporters going to Roxas, the Binay supporters I don’t know but I suspect it would have been tight.
Even then, the majority that may have voted Duterte is not the 66% needed to change the Constitution, the agreement on how the country is to be run.
That means even the President must follow the Constitution, until it is changed.
If he wants a Con-Con + referendum and 66% make him King, then so be it ordained.
To indulge this Mocha Uson level discussion:
Ok so what is 16M divided by 54M? 29%. Where is the 50% +1 you are talking about?
(Besides the turnout rate was 81% only, not the whole 54M)
This guy’s a faker and doesn’t understand the discussion. Also we are dealing with constants, not variables.
Like I mentioned, a run-off might have told the truth but it would have been tight.
I don’t know if Mocha Uson is tight, maybe LCPL_X does, maybe not.
aha ha ha ha
You are a piece of work, EdD. First of all, you don’t read well. I asked you to call me Joe or JoeAm. Second of all, you don’t seem to grasp that history never ends. Third, you didn’t respond to my point that leaders don’t “rule”, they serve. Are you trolling the blog, or what? This is a discussion forum, so kindly discuss. Don’t chirp away with little pot shots.
Thanks for butting in Andrew👍
Change has come, indeed. You should specify whether that was good or bad change, though. Change, for change’s sake, never really leads to anything.
Very soon Joe you will see where these changes lead. Exibit A- davao city
By the way i am not even 5% at par sa galing mo and the others. I just want to express my observations, right or wrong.
I may not be even agee on things I observed.
Looks like the suntzu “shock and awe” is getting results. More coming out of their dens. But I still would like to see a watchful and noisy opposition to point out what’s the abuses of the enforcers if any. And where are the big time lords? Let’s wait & see
Good questions, but, for myself, I can’t just “wait and see”, because I have a wee little franchise, a voice, and would consider myself an enabler if I stood by silently. There needs to be an inquiry to answer the questions, who exactly is being shot, is it legitimately in self-defense, and is execution being overdone when something less is ordinarily achieved by professional police around the world.
For sure, the idea of “maximum tolerance” has been dumped from the language of the Administration’s police language. I wonder what the rules will be if protests erupt.
*******
1. Under the Constitution, the categorization of the issue at hand falls under two areas: (a) peace and order and (b) due process.
1.1. The principle of the first area is found in Section 5 of the Declaration of Principles and State Policies (Article II) that states: ”The maintenance of peace and order, the protection of life, liberty, and property, and promotion of the general welfare are essential for the enjoyment by all the people of the blessings of democracy.”
1.1. The principle of the second area is found in Section 1 of the Bill of Rights that states (Article III): “No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor shall any person be denied the equal protection of the laws.
2. It can be seen that the Constitution is consistent: both principles speak of the value of life.
3. What is not consistent is the interpretation of the Constitution.
3.1. In the previous post, I have argued that a “basic principle of constitutional construction is that provisions are mutually consistent.” This means that one part cannot be used to overturn another part.
3.2. The Constitution gives equal weight to both due process and peace and order in the protection of life.
3.3. The Duterte administration believes peace and order is paramount to due process.
3.4. In this, it errs – and errs grievously.
*****
Yes, from both a legal (constitutional) and humane (human rights) standpoint. The national government has unleashed Filipinos as animals, snarling and snuffing the life from their own kind.
We should believe what Pres. Duterte has said that his government would be a unifying government. We are becoming like a kingdom, a united (animal) kingdom.
With the killings the franchised 16 million are singing praises and hallelujah…thy kingdom come….
Pardon my sarcasm but the killings have made me bothered and sad.
Yes, not cool for a nation that was rising in the eyes of the world.
The beginning of this TV show by Lourd de Veyra mocks that hallelujah…
Wonder if the crowd that is enlightened will gain enough critical mass… for critical thinking.
*******
Serial killers?
*****
Yes, seems to be so . . .
@Society
In Davao criminals for execution are given a week or two to get out of town so they wont be.
Now that he has gone national it seems there is no way to repent.
Copy cats not knowing how they did it in Davao are experimenting.
We saw this and it is painful to say I told you so.
@Joe In the show The Wire kids as young as 6 are used as pawns in the drug trade.
Damn,
Gadzooks. So PNP would shoot them?
Good you know the Wire Gian… now we all now who wins to rule all of Baltimore and can only be made to leave the throne but not go to jail… Marlo who is basically a sociopath.
Joe,
Those who don’t belong to such groups as criminals, would be criminals, corrupt, financially poor, undereducated, group for no government assistance programs are required…will be IGNORED for the noise they (we) can create on behalf of the commonly known disenfranchised group.
Are we the ‘next disenfranchised’ group in the making?
Seems to be. Leftists are in though. And old people who worked for Arroyo and young people who work for Marcos.
What happened to Mary Jane Veloso? Dealing with heroin, much more addictive, more damaging than shabu. Shouldn’t she be killed to set an example for all potential drug mules? To teach to be more careful, to check your luggage, to know your recruiters.
Where are the staunch protectors of life? Where is Binay and all other loud protesters? Now that there are dozens of more straight forward cases close by.
Forgot to mention Manny Pacquiao, or Ban Ki Moon and Richard Branson…. all came out in support of Veloso.
Also wonder why the kill immediately. What about a little water-boarding to get information who the higher-up’s are? Or does this mean they know the bosses? But why then to kill only the small fishes?
Or does it mean that there are good people handling drugs that have to be saved and bad ones that have to be killed? But who decides? What criteria? Will we have to wait for a FOI bill to know?
Yeah.
One man’s monster is another man’s peace officer. I give the benefit of the doubt to those who support extra judicial killings. They are not necessarily supporters of P Duterte but they are fed up with the slow pace of justice system in the country.
What worries me are the killing machines unleashed against suspected drug offenders.
Years from now and after the cleansing is done, will they return to their decent old ways or become monsters in our midst.
Yes, I can understand those who are penalized or suffer because of drugs would want things cleaned up. That hardly justifies the killing of 19 year-olds or drug USERS or the innocent, on sight. And, as you recognize, a nasty genie unleashed is difficult to control.
In the late Marcos period there were so-called Secret Marshalls who I think shot holduppers on sight in jeepneys and busses – won the approval of many but they did not help stem the anger about Ninoy getting killed.
I think it was in the Ramos period that drug users were also summarily executed, I remember a senior Filipino diplomat approving of it. Mayor Lim of Manila also had the reputation of having drug pushers murdered, but with plausible deniability of course. So it is no wonder that there are many who have been conditioned to approve such stuff – and that mentality is not surprising, yes even Mar Roxas had Duterte as a friend when he was not yet a serious contender and that was when De Lima and CHR already were protesting.
Kafka would love the Philippines. Man, it’s a crime-fest masquerading as a democracy.
Secret Marshals… this may partly explain why BBM nearly won on the basis of “nostalgia”, historical revisionism, and the romanticization of Martial Law.
I’d like to think that those you mentioned as paralyzed are having a hard time too. For sure they want to do or say something but given who they are, whatever they say or do against the national leader may well be labeled as politicizing.
I’ve been here in Tondo-Sta. Cruz my whole life. Quiricada is a place well known for drug addicts and pushers. Even my father is a witness to that since he was a child. Not even Marcos’ martial law stopped the rampant buying, selling, and using of drugs there. If the mayor from Davao is serious about battling drugs, why do we not hear anything happening about that place?
Interesting question.
My simple thoughts on these developments:
1. Smart and virtuous politicians are giving Duterte enough rope to hang himself;
2, Is it possible that the so-called drug pushers and users being salvaged are killed to protect bigger people in the police, military, government leaders, etc.?
3. I feel somewhat responsible for giving Duterte his power. I should have done more to convince the immature thinkers, the “mapusok” youth, the thrill-seeking citizens, that to seek change for change itself can only lead to bigger problems for our country. I can now only sit back and pray that we survive the next 6 years with as little trauma and tragedy.
” should have done more to convince the immature thinkers, the “mapusok” youth, the thrill-seeking citizens, that to seek change for change itself can only lead to bigger problems for our country.” Kudos for that insight, but there are bigger responsibles for this…
The intellectual elite who failed to educate the nation properly. The journalistic elite who preferred sensationalism and paved the way for Mocha Uson. Damn.
Thanks for the point of view, Peachy. Most interesting.
I find it sad that in this moment of truth, many of the usual critics are either not paying attention or giving up their criticisms….. The feeling is not unlike watching your own home burn down in a fire; you merely stare at it and wonder if it really is happening and where the firemen who hosed down your house when it wasn’t burning were when you needed them.
But on the other hand, one would like to know why the house is burning. Something like that is going on inside of me. Where did we go wrong, I wonder? Perhaps there are things we must have remembered. Sometimes I wish I could have done better….even if I know I did the best I could.
If only Duterte was just a dumb autocratic despot who only knew how to order shootings. Then it would have been so much easier to dismiss him as a threat to liberal and humanist ideals. Yet—he is a far more complex man than that. And his complexity is absolutely perplexing. And unnerving.
Recently bought a book on the New Deal and the parallels between FDR and DU30 are creepy—and I’m only done with just two chapters. Dismissed as an intellectual lightweight—yet closely assisted by a team of experts from all political colors who leaned more left than right. The New Deal less a cleanly coherent set of policies and more a pragmatic mix of radical liberal measures implemented experimentally; the weird mix of agrarian reform and maintaining many economic policies of the Aquino III administration brings to mind the sight of candidate who once promised to “copy” platforms.
To arrange a Philippine New Deal with both big business and the dominant strain of the Left? To do so while implementing Federalism to finally put Imperial Manila in its place? Pardon the language—but f**k, Digong, you don’t need to resort to f***ing extrajudicial killings to potentially get remembered as one of the greatest (if not the greatest) PH presidents of all time! This is the sort of thing that gets whole eras in national history named after you!
But I digress. This is the point I want to drive—we all wish he will succeed and what if he actually does? What does a “best case scenario” for a Duterte presidency pose for the future of humanist ideals in the PH?
The middle class will be safe. They’ll be happy. The poor who’ll be most harshly targeted won’t mind—they and their children will have jobs and if not jobs, welfare. Thanks, liberals and leftists for all that industrialization and spending! Sure, it’s an unequal Change is Coming—the middle class get the nice “American” (oh, less regulations, taxes and traffic!) way and the poor get the brutish “South Korean/Chinese” (the barangay informants are always watching!) way—but who cares for such abstract non-sense! Development, who can argue with that!
And the Millennials! Won’t these kids (like myself) grow up to become old men and women who’ll snicker at anyone who talks about “civil rights” like those “crazy” young people who dare protest LKY’s legacy in Singapore? Ah, we’ll be muttering: “They just don’t know how good they have it, don’t they?”
This is absolutely unnerving. Absolutely unnerving.
Addenda: A fitting article for the times.
http://www.rappler.com/thought-leaders/138526-leni-robredo-burdens-filipino-liberal
The liberals never amount to much in Bavaria where I live. Staunch conservatism and pragmatism is seen over here as the recipe to prevent renewed extremism.
Probably more realistic than the good view of human beings that many liberals have – what I suspect is that Leni has strong conservative and realistic attitudes even if the Liberal Party is where she comes from.
Bam Aquino is also realistic in his SME initiatives – if you don’t spread the wealth, all ideals are for naught, because a hungry stomach knows no principles.
“The Rise of the Iconoclast.” I’d write that as a blog, but I’m exhausted from the last one. We humanists are dinosaurs, I suppose, in the fast paced world of Trump and Duterte. Tweet your way to power, keep everyone off balance, toss old values to the four winds. Best to find a nice island with a nice beach and drill for San Mig.
No one here has defended the police shoot to kill campaign against drug users & dealers…But there is this comment by “Think 4a2nd” on Rappler today in the comments of article about Leni Robredo.
“Think 4a2nd
and the so-called poor victims of drug abuse are also the ones who are capable of raping little girls and babies (google it). No one is to be blamed for their addiction but themselves. So spare us with the rhetorics and learn responsible journalism.”
And today I read about an expat in Dumagate, knifed to death at night in a house break in by a thief & drug user
There is real anger by many Filipinos at the threat they think drug abuse poses..And curiously the major source of shabu is China..So clearly this export puts Duterte on a collision course with China..
Trying still to join the dots…& thinking
Think for a second. That’s a clever title. The problem is the lack of definition to the slippery slope, the lack of supervision and accountability, the innocents who get caught in the violence, and the fact that there are other ways. I suppose I live in too nice a community, although it is poor. Other than the occasional drunk, drugs might as well be non-existent. I’ll ask my wife to ask her friends if that readout is correct, or if I simply am not engaging in the aspects of society where drugs rise up. I wonder why there was no hue and cry before Candidate Duterte made it a campaign issues. Bullets in bags were big. Drug lords in the main prison were. Transportation was. But there has been no outrage expressed in the headlines, that I can recall.
Or Biliran may simply be remote enough to have still some beautiful innocence, Joe.
Our place here in Tondo-Sta. Cruz (we live in the boundary) is a poor community. We are just near the famous Quiricada were rampant buying, selling, and using of drug happens. Occasionally there are petty crimes like cell phone snatching, roberry, and fighting among relatives, families, and friends. There are a lot of people around, day in and day out. You can see some drinking liquor at nights or even doing tong-its. (card game)
Given all that, we still feel same in the community. The addicts are normally known by everyone, and are generally harmless. It’s only during the last campaign period that drugs have been getting too much attention as if it’s going to make or break the country. Now I don’t feel as safe as before not from the addicts but from the possibility that someone from our place will be a target but us innocent neighbors will be victims of mistaken identity.
Of late, our Excellency decided that five police generals are partly responsible for political instability:
http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2016/07/05/1599800/duterte-names-5-pnp-officials-involved-drugs
Thanks Madlanglupa…I wonder if there is evidence or if this is just an accusation…If these 5 police generals were protecting drug lords, then there is real reason to act swiftly…But I wonder what the evidence is..
It is a real pity that the Philippines lacks a strong Crime & Cotruption Commission…The COA does a completely different job
If anything, it sounds more like straight out of the mouth of Mao or Stalin… while he has yet to name the “big fish”.
If it were Mao or Stalin, these 5 would have been secretly arrested at night and simply disappeared already …Their names would not be mentioned at a public event.until they presented for sentence at a “people’s court” And of course that would be after torture by the secret police…
No Duterte is doing something different
Hugo Chavez is more like it.
No I disagree..Chavez is not a fair comparison either. Chavez was always the president Military Commander ordering Venezuelans around
I think Duterte is copying Richard Nixon of the 1950’s and his allies in the USA Congress, with their communists are anti American campaign
Then in history who is the most closest in comparison to him? Anyway, many would applaud this “expose” as daring and radical.
BTW, this was the secret that the President confided to his closest law-and-order pitbull that is Ramon Tulfo.
Tulfo had an interesting note today about a former NFA director appointed by Aquino now getting a job as head of MECCO in Taiwan courtesy of Duterte..He was not pleased…
Madlanglupa..I see a lot of political stuff in the Philippines as a distant echo of the USA political system…
Nixon campaigned against Communism in the 1959 campaign to be President..But he lost to Kennedy who had a much softer approach until the Cuba missile crisis… So there is no parallel..Duterte is unique
One important background. I have seen social media postings on the pages of FB friends who are pro-Duterte (unfollowed but I still look from time to time) saying that certain police generals close to MAR ROXAS were involved in the drug trade… this is the buzz for now.
Why am I mentioning this? To show the extent of how their smear campaigns are working, and how many people apparently believe it or are deliberately lying. Better not ignore.
Irineo, Rappler has many similar comments.But no one is saying I have evidence or I am a witness….
The newly elected King Duterte has spoken…
Here is a real argument for a Federal parliamentary democracy….
Here is a comment I have just seen elsewhere :
“You know who the real culprits are? The Peoples Republic of China and its Government.
All through Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Methamphetamine usage is increasing and the main supplier for the drug and its precursors chemicals is CHINA. The Chinese Government is using this as a deliberate policy to de-stabilise Asia and other surrounding nations and also to enrich officials of the Chinese Government.”
I do not know how true the accusation against the Chinese government is. But it is certainly true that the shabu is made in China.
I understand and share the frustration, the dismay and the despair evoked in your blog at how government sanctioned violence outside the law is taking over the streets. The tragedy is this is what our current electorate process asked for and got and the continuing dire consequences that even those who voted otherwise will have to live under. It is not the choice itself but the social and political foundations of that process itself that should be lamented and fixed.
I’d say social, yes, and political along the lines of parties of principle. The structure of the democratic institutions is fundamentally sound. But if you have a functioning pipeline that is pumping sewerage, what comes out the pipe at the end is sewerage,
Anybody here seen “The Purge” movies?
There is a troubling aspect I noticed – many of the names of those mentioned as drug dealers in the past and now were Moro names. Could a certain discriminatory aspect be involved here?
Of course it could be that many being discriminated slide into exactly that kind of “occupation”…
Thank you for this post. It is truly a disturbing fact indeed, it only time can tell what will happen to our country in the next six years.
Good of you to stop by, ARandom. Love your screen name . . .
It is very troublesome when I heard Duterte say that drug addicts should be killed because they cannot be rehabilitated. Who died and made him God? Judge +Executioner = #DictatorDuterte
He definitely operates from a different value stream than modern and educated, I think. Difficult, yes. Impossible, no. He would not even reach out to save one life, if it were savable?
the previous administrations who didn’t deal with the situation are far worst. you do bad you get bad. you do bad and nothing happens then that is really bad.
Value orientation gap.
As I read all your comments, I perceived that none of you is a defender of our nation. I mean, you have all chosen your side already who’s right and wrong or who’s on humanist’s and on executioner’s. There is a sudden tag name for both sides and that leads to a divided nation. It is too early to make a judgement. Too early to confuse the mind of the people. I don’t call myself a humanist or an executioners, but I strongly fight for truth and righteousness. At first, I do not like the method of the present administration. But I realized now why God has allowed it to happen. I thought that the rampant drug trafficking exist only in a small areas of our country. But as I travel on the streets from south to north, and even experienced to almost hit a man wearing only an underwear in the middle of the road and I saw that he was under the influence of drug, I was enlightened to see how worst the situation of the youth at the present time. I believe God’s hand is moving in our land. We need a strong and brave leader. This issue of drug addiction is not an instant crime that suddenly appears in our society. No. It was laid and nested for many years and what we see now is a hatching time of terror and decay to the future of our country. We must stop it. It is not the People and the law that we make enemies with that should have a tag name but the sin of disenfranchising the youth to think right. We are all Filipinos with different abilities. Use it to defend our nation. If writing is your skill do it the right way that you think can support the country. Advise the people to impose discipline in their place to protect your self and your family. Remember, laws were created for orderliness and guidelines for justice, etc. Human created it, so it is not perfect. There is part of it that is not applicable or I may say not fitted to the situation of the country. Just think about righteousness and ask God for help and wisdom, and everything will be okay.
Oh, I would say that all are defending the nation, but in ways that differ from yours. There is no single path to righteousness. Good of you to stop by and contribute to the discussion, though.
In a democracy, where there are applicable laws for proven crimes, killing a mere suspect without conviction of any crime compels 2 judgments only: Right or Wrong.
Can you imagine yourself in the sandal (if he wears one) of the suspect?
Btw, I don’t like criminals either, of any kind, convicted or not (particularly because due process saved their butt).
My response is for Jesse H. de la Roca.
(OT) Reading the news now is an exercise in discomfiture, with about the only people happy with this change are the ultra-rightists and the Maoists. with the former gleefully seeing the streets being cleared and druggies obliterated left and right, and Marcos being recognized to be buried as his heirs wanted; the latter suddenly finding itself favored by a “peacemaker” after years of being ignored chained to the rocks, and with new proletariat power comes the march to expropriate, to “loot the looters” as the Soviets proclaim.
Bulatlat is having a field day, indeed. While conveniently ignoring the reality that their hated oligarchs in their solar system of demons may be soon be replaced by oligarchs of a different color.
disenfranchised? the real disenfranchised are the ones who don’t have the means what you are enjoying… you’re nothing more than a manipulative self-serving hypocrite feigning and marginalizing your own situation.
So you are okay with the executions, DL, and their departure from what the Constitution says?
All I do is write the articles, generally provocatively and interestingly. Your job is to comment, and preferably civilly and without name calling.
your job is what you say your job is… you blog with a comment box then you can surely expect ppl to comment. if the truth hurts you should learn to deal with it. writing provocatively and interestingly is your definition of what i call manipulative self serving feigned writing.
Well, you are new to the blog as far as I can tell, and remind me of the kind of brash guest that arrives at a party with mud-caked boots, stomping through the parlor shouting out the wisdom of the gods without caring much about something called knowledge or something else called courtesy.
But I notice you did not answer my question about executions, and extra-judicial justice, which is really the subject of the blog. My writing skills are not. Some people like them, some don’t. I suspect you are not a member of the target audience, which basically is open minded people interested in the well-being of the Philippines.
DL…you can’t handle the truth said civilly, can you? Are you an eavesdropper, disguised as a blunt critic, to ….. an idea or two?
Joe, how do we organize the disenfranchised, those who stand for justice and humanity? People like yourself, Cristina Astorga, Raissa Robles, and others, all brave souls with moral courage, must unite the disenfranchised. I believe we should start with young people who are idealistc and untouched by corruption. Start with schools. This is not being anti administration. It is being pro Filipino.
Lito Misa
As a non-citizen, I can’t participate in any organized activities. I suspect it may emerge if what we see happening continues, the abuse of what we consider citizen rights. It may be political (LP) or something more . . . hard to say.
I came across this now, and wondered if this man heading the PNP is reminding me of a certain right-hand man of a strongman.
I asked myself if we are going backwards, if we have arrived at an age people will have to choose between the carrot and the stick.
Translated: “Dela Rosa on death penalty: Death by hanging because it’s more frightening. Hanging needs to be televised.”
No,,because you are shamed first, before you choke to death.
Also it takes longer to die from hanging…imagine gradually losing your breathe. That way, it’s torture not mercy killing that lethal or electrocution does.
From what I have read a properly done hanging is quick, almost instantaneous. Death does not happen by strangulation but by severing neck vertebrae and spinal column…Better though to not need to know this…
Televise for drama, spectacle n impact. The means to deliver the lesson: Thou shalt not commit the illegal drug sin or you die this way.
While washing dishes, something came out from my readings of history: “bread and circuses” as the Caesars weaned the populace away from pressing issues by entertainment and food. Interpreted in this time and place, it might as well be “rice and rubouts”. Or “rice and showbiz”.
Glossary
1. Vigilante killing – summary execution of criminals by a member of a self-appointed group of citizens who undertake extreme law enforcement in their community without legal authority, typically because the legal agencies are thought to be inadequate. It is seen as a desperate solution to peace and order problems.
2. Extra judicial killing – An extrajudicial killing is the execution of a person by governmental authorities without the sanction of any judicial proceeding or legal process. Extrajudicial punishments are mostly seen by humanity to be unethical, since they bypass the due process of the legal jurisdiction in which they occur. It is seen as a desperate means to extract justice.
3. Gangland killing – a gangland killing (also called a rubout) is a murder carried out by organized criminals to eliminate competition, punish erring members, vendetta or to silence possible leaks and protect the upline within the crime organization. It is nothing more but business and standard operating procedure.
To the uninitiated it is easy to dismiss the killings as either the result of 1 and 2. What we are seeing today is more of the 3rd variety, organized crime, especially their coddlers and protectors covering their tracks. Vigilante killings and extra-judicial killings? All of it? Criminal organizations do not follow the constitution but they certainly use it as a shield. Perhaps the CHR would be more circumspect if it could tell the difference.
But I do agree that criminals even the petty ones are a disenfranchised lot. They can end up dead at the hands of the criminal organization. They signed their dead warrants when they joined. but I even they need lawyers to protect them from their kind. Perhaps even more disenfranchised than victims such as drug users and their families.
What is it about organized crime that you do not understand, Joe?
Interesting. So a policeman pushing the law outside the legal bounds is extra judiciary. What if he is in cahoots with crime bosses. Is it gangland or extra judiciary?
“What is it about organized crime that you do not understand, Joe?” I tend to see ordinarily intelligent people who have to take personal pot shots as a lot like fighting chickens. Their real work is done pecking and clawing, but they somehow feel bigger or stronger if they strut a bit, fluff the feathers, preen for the audience.
I thought your comment was great. I learned a lot. A well organized mind. Clear explanation. Nice feathers.
If we assume that all policemen are not members or paid by a crime syndicate then any killing done by them in the name of justice is extra-judicial. It is a crime devoid of humanity. e.g. A policeman who extracts justice for victims of a violent serial rapist by acting as judge, jury and executioner by killing a known rapist who has been acquitted on a technicality.
Policemen who are members or on the payroll of a syndicate who kill on behalf of the crime organization to silence possible witnesses and whistle blowers do it as nothing more but business as usual. This is gangland killing. The entire thing is devoid of humanity but then, that is the nature of a crime syndicate.
Ye be the judge on what is happening in our streets today for the past weeks. More than hundred killed to date.
Do we really believe that vigilantes have sprouted overnight or law abiding policemen have taken the law in their hands to bring to justice a drug lord?
This could all be put to rest if there are evidences such as CCTV or other digital footages justifying the use of force by law enforcement officials and vigilante groups. Imbes na hakahaka, ebidensya ang magpapatunay kung sino ang may sala.
“He-said, she-said” journalism makes situations clear as mud. Fact checking and evidence based reporting would go along way to quelling unreasonable fears and chika-chika assumptions.
I see the rationale for the likelihood that some/many/most of the killings could be within the crime family, or wiping out witnesses. But do you hold that this is a good thing, or bad? That is, is the endorsement of killing by the President morally okay, because the end result is a cleaning out of people who are worthless? The purpose of the article is to suggest that those of us who think following human rights standards is a downright civil thing to do are today’s outcasts. Irrelevant. Where are you on the morality issue?
This is insanity. One has to be completely mad to lower the criminal age to 9!
What the fuck…..? Absolute drongos
Clarification : The word drongo is used in Australian and New Zealand English as a strong insult meaning “idiot” or “stupid fellow”.
This usage derives from an Australian racehorse named ‘spangled drongo’, in the 1920s that never won despite many starts.
That’s a good word to have in one’s vocabulary. However, can you do with slightly less cursing. I can imagine a student going to read Chempo’s fine piece, taking a spin through the comments and feeling he had just come out of a sailor’s bar, having learned more than he wanted.
I don’t mind an occasional well planted use of an expletive, but prefer just everyday conversation for most dialogue. Thanks.
sailors bar… this one is in Hamburgs red light district..
Hey, the whole town of Cadiz in Spain is a sailor’s bar. Right across from Gibraltar.
I wonder who the chick is that Bill is talking to, and why is he leaning against trash cans?
OK Joe..But good to see Drongo has a place here..
Do members of the Congress have offices where the public can contact their elected representives ? In Oz absolute drongos have members of the pubic & lobby groups camped outside their offices to shame & draw public attention to idiocy. It works often.
There are people who are actually interested in this piece of legislation, which translates to obliterating they see as undesirables and eyesores unworthy of being cared for, much like death squads hired to wipe out Brazilian street children.
Some lawmakers! Waste no time. Miss no opportunity.
The start of many first law amendments to make the means justify the end. My head just became a vintage pendulum.
While at it, why not age 3. Inhalants can be snorted by kids before they go to kinder.
Rep. Alvarez might be thinking that he is a juggernaut. The more I appreciate the senate as a whole.
They are too proud to be rubber stamps.
Juggernut.
😜😏😉
Don’t forget Pacman. “By God’s will,” he wants hanging convicts all the while trying to protect the unborn.
Re Pacman,when will he start being absent,he did not react on the no work no pay proposal.
He’s too busy trying to count his coin and reading Bible verses.
The grief of victims of crime and corruption—here and on mass media makes one wonder:
The Roman Republic were ruled by two elected consuls at all times—yet during necessary occasions these elected officials ceded power to extraordinary “dictators” to deal with serious problems such as sedition and war. These dictators were constitutional—their terms ending either after six months or after accomplishing the task at hand.
Might Duterte be a “dictator” in the plain Roman sense? Too old to consider anything else beyond his term? Not willing to go further than six years anyhow? Hmm.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_dictator
Could be. He may also believe in the basic premise of the Krypteia against the Helots.
Butch Cabanban gave a really good point regarding the recent killings of drug lords. You have to believe either it is due to 1.) the sudden surge of vigilantes and heroic cops aiming to eradicate drugs once and for all without personal gain, or 2.) bad cops cleaning up their mess.
I feel your pain. But what is happening to our beloved country is something that can only get worse, it cannot be cured. We must fight it, but we cannot win. It is like the downfall of America, it cannot be arrested. The world is entering a new phase as a result of globalization. One world government, one currency, one religion. G-D will soon once again make Himself known to mankind. But before that happens, evil will reach its climax. In prophecy, the U.S. is destined to become an evil nation. Our country is destined to suffer much pain under the rule of the beast. We must pray.
The US as an evil nation. I suppose some consider it so already, and certainly one is hard-pressed to see the old ideological roots of fairness and opportunity. Rather, it is populism and politics. Still, I am hard pressed to see “evil” there, unless one extends a Trump presidency toward the authoritarian disregard for life that we are seeing in the Philippines. I think we have some time of sanity left before it turns to trash, and, in the Philippines, we still have some democracy and freedoms to exercise.
3 cheers for Rep. Baguilat…hep hep hooray! Repeat X 2. He rises from the fold, to lead the now Opposition Block.
Ditto for Sen.Leila.
Pushback is beginning, and I think it is having an effect. Panelo today tried to explain how the naming of generals supposedly linked to drugs, outside of due process, was in their best interest. ahahahaha What a pile of self-justifying nonsense. I hope people push back against that, too.
Oh, right, I did. Today’s blog. 🙂
Yes kudos to Rep. Bagullat.🍾
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/794846/look-into-extrajudicial-killings-under-duterte-congress-pressed
Now,when will Senator Delima file her resolution.I hope it is ASAP.
I’m thinking Senator De Lima is emerging as the leader of the opposition, as Big Man Senator Drilon is bound up in politics. She and Sen. Lacson have also filed a bill to limit bank secrecy rights for government employees.
Beguilat in Cngress, de Lima, Senate. L
Sen. Lacson…mind unmade up, it seems. Sort of ambivalent or fence sitting.
Why “limit” bank secrecy rights? Should be conditional, not limited.
Right. Conditional, or whatever the bill will say. Lacson will be an interesting guy to watch, to see how he plays things. Loyal to police.
Lacson filed amendments to AMLA as well.
http://interaksyon.com/article/130074/lacson-wants-casinos-real-estate-brokers-arts-and-car-dealers-covered-by-amla
Lacson might accomplish more at the Senate this go round.
TY Mr. Librarian😉
De nada LG.
Circumvent the law, open bank accounts, buy real estate in the name of relatives with different last names. Or is this way obsolete. Think. Think. Think.
Nothing is obsolete,I guess,they just get reinvented.
A division between those who lust for blood, in the quest for blind justice and those who cheer them on, against those whose values give them the ability to recognize the fallacy happening around them but whose voices are subjugated by the desire for self preservation.
Bingo. Nicely stated, Elmer.
Allow me to copy this here before it gets erased.(Editor’s Note)
“Push-back against the rise in extra-judicial killings is starting to build. Legislators in the House and Senate are filing resolutions to begin investigations. The Inquirer is accumulating a “Kill List” to document the deaths. Criticism of the shaming of top PNP generals, denying them due process, is causing Duterte lieutenants to dance around explaining (nonsensically) how the generals benefit from the naming and shaming.”
Thanks.
My pleasure.
The mirror sees same old double standards.Fast no process injustice for the poor and ignorant suspect; standard due process for the suspect in the opposite class, except for the public shaming.
Public shaming must be the TM (trademark) of Pres. D., to distinguish his brand of crime control and prevention. He knows being shamed in public is a NO NO. Parents should not even scold their erring child in public.
The message:
Don’t even think about it, you hear, or you will be shamed next!
The social media message that has just gone out from Nic Gabunada attempts to explain that the goal is to seat fear in the minds of criminals, not the rest of us law abiding people. I noted that it had “Mindanao” all over the photo, and I inquired as to whether there is now an “Imperial Mindanao” or united Philippines. I’d guess the pushback on the killings has them trying to figure out a way to calm the reactions, but keep it going.
I would note that Senator Bam Aquino has come out opposed to both the death penalty and lowering the age of criminality.
Those drug lords are really smart. They circumvent laws to avoid prosecution, so they use unprosecutable kids as drug mules, hook ’em early to ensure business perpetuity.
Need to really study through the illegal drug business. Science is quite on top of prevention, treatment and rehabilitation. US data at least, perhaps among others.
But here, who is doing literature review to base national policies and bills on?
At least inspire national (Philippine) data gathering on the issue, the scientific way, if such is not ongoing. Variety of ways to inspire research.
You expect policy to be based on KNOWLEDGE? Rather demanding of you. That’s not the way we do it here.
LG,
The bils that are not copied or recycled from other bills are researched by the staff of the senators and congressmen.
When defending a bill,you invite resource persons, those against your bill will bring resorce persons of their own.
When the bill reaches the commitee, they form a technical working group,some are old staff of congress,some from the academe,and some others.
Even if the bill is recycled you rinse and repeat.
But to digress a little,here are publications from the senate,I do not know if they read it or just display it in their shelves.
https://www.senate.gov.ph/publications.asp
Having seen Our Brand is Crisis, I realized what naming “public enemies” is really for: to make the accused try to publicly deny the charges leveled against them, to make the targets uncomfortable that it becomes easy for the propagandist to let the public turn against the accused.
Suddenly the generals are in the crosshairs… and then the gleeful apologists-triumphalists are now connecting some of the generals to Mar, and making up Facebook conspiracy theories and more agitprop.
So much for “unity”; the disturbing objective, it seems, is to remove the undesirables, whether members of the opposition (visible and potential threats to the administration), the eyesores (street children who actually need help, not jail) and drug users and third-rate dealers at the lowest dregs of the shabu cartel pyramid.
Joe, I have just read this report of police killings in the USA..
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-08/new-us-police-shooting-video-as-lousiana-father-mourned/7579246
It seems clear to me that Filipino police are following the example of their USA ‘big brother’ police counterparts.
It is not a happy example to follow..
Every state in Oz has a separate police force.In South Australia every police killing results in the individual police officers involved being suspended while a there is an independent enquirey.There is also a an official Coroner’s enquiry as well. I believe that all the other Oz states have similar official processes after any death in custody.
There are very few deaths in custody in Australia.It happens but comparitively few.
Finally I notice that police executions (of drug users & pushers ) spiked immediately after the May 9th election results while Aquino was still in power.He had the authority to stop the police killings.Just ordering the suspension of any officers involved would have done the trick.But he did nothing.I read today in the Manila Times that the female ex chair of the Philippines HRC is extremely disappointed with Aquino because of this lack of leadership
Here is a more comprehensive version of the same report:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2016/07/05/baton-rouge-alton-sterling-police-shooting/86738368/
“It seems clear to me that Filipino police are following the example of their USA ‘big brother’ police counterparts.”
Please try to find more info and explore both sides of the story before making judgement call.
Thank you
Wrong report above but similar incidents. Note how people, media and government react to the incidents. Also note the speed on how these incidents are being investigated; how the government authorities are involved and working the details and evidences; how the media coverage is comprehensive and professional; and how people are concerned and very vocal about their feelings.
Here is the right report:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/07/07/minn-cop-fatally-shoots-man-during-traffic-stop-aftermath-broadcast-on-facebook/
Well, as Juana says, that is about as wrong as wrong can be, Bill. Police killings in the US are an aberration of individuals, perhaps racism, and violent circumstances that test the police officers. They get properly investigated, both in the public eye and officially. Police killings in the PH are encouraged by the government, supposedly drug related, are happening so fast that the public misses most of them, and to date there has been no investigation of the police actions. They are totally separate phenomena, the only commonality being that the police have a measure of authority and some guns. The danger in both circumstances is that trust in police is eroded.
Joe what you say here is true…And I am happy to acknowledge it..Sometimes writing comments when tired at 1.00 am is not clever..
But you miss the wider ‘cultural’ influence that the USA has here in the Philippines…where Duterte’s remarks are almost from the script of some John Wayne movie..
On the latest, the attacks on police in Dallas, I am not anti-american.I have a daughter & grandchild in Mineappolis..
But I am coming to the conclusion that it is a different ‘civilisation’. culturally so different from my own, even though we share a language
It is a civil place, outside of politics. Don’t let the extremists, or the exceptions, define the nation.
@ Bill,
With this single comment and the way you presented it, you have just lost any and all credibility with me.
Signed,
A Texan
That may be, Doc, but the format of this blog is that you discuss the issue rather than the person. The personal thoughts you are allowed to keep for yourself, the discussion . . . strictly issues. If you feel there is no future in the discussion because you are too far apart, just move on. Bill, like many of us, is ‘hit’ on some matters and ‘miss ‘ on others. Dealing with the matters leads to education. Dealing with the persons leads to pissing into the wind for distance.
Duly noted.
Great.
Related:
At approx. 9:00 PM this evening during a “black lives matter” protest rally in Dallas, Texas at least 10 Police Officers were shot by an unknown assailant/s who were reportedly shooting from an elevated position in downtown Dallas. 3 of the 10 Officers involved were killed. The shooter/s are still at large but are believed to be barricaded in the Omni Hotel. Information is changing rapidly, reports now indicate 2 shooters (described as snipers) are involved and all of the injured shot or killed are Police Officers. No civilian injuries have been reported.
Now four dead. Violence begets violence.
Tell me Joe, what “violence” were these Officers committing when they were ambushed by 2 snipers in a pre-planned attack?
The violence was committed by other police departments in the apparent wanton shooting of blacks (perceived as “innocent” or helpless or profiled, by other blacks). The racial tension is extreme in many cities, and in that tension, and with all the high powered weapons readily available, it was only a matter of time before an (extremist/loose cannon/nutcase) person would get angry and act. That, I believe is what happened. The violence is found in the “me too” pattern that sees people taking up the gun as a way to solve problems. The officers (totally innocent, but representing “the other side” at a protest event) were likely targeted because they represent police oppression of the powerless. Or, who knows, it could be a terrorist act, to provoke more violence. I wasn’t condoning anything, and for sure feel sadness about the senselessness of the act.
An act that may incite further violence . . .
I would add that when leaders (?) like Trump propose extreme behavior against minorities, that cuts everywhich way, at inciting extreme behavior.
There are my enemies and our enemies. Clearly this was not a case of me against you, but we against them. So it should be clear too that it was our violence against your violence.
@Joseph,
I’ve read and re-read your comment several times, but I’m still not sure I’m “clear” on your meaning. Care to simplify it for a simple man like me?
I think the Dallas incident is awful.
But the USA is a country with (very roughly ) 280 million fire arms, many of them high powered assault weapons, in the hands of civilians..Courtesy of the NRA…..
It is inevitable that someone somewhere will use them
Utter bloody madness.
I dare you to stride into an NRA meeting and tell them that.
Doc,
Maybe because of the reason for the protest.Black lives matter.
“On July 7, 2016, four police officers were killed by sniper fire in Dallas, Texas. Seven other officers and a civilian were injured.The shooting occurred at the end of a protest against police killings in the aftermath of the shooting deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, both of which occurred within the previous two days.”
Ya know Gentlemen, rather than walk into a left-wing ambush of predictable distortions and propaganda, I think I’ll just leave the comments exactly as they are so that those who may read them can decide for themselves who truly believes in justice and civility, and who doesn’t. Who sanctions “extra judicial killings”, and who doesn’t. Who plays the race card, and who doesn’t. Who believes in freedom and liberty, and who doesn’t. Who is a hypocrite, and who isn’t. I reckon letting people decide for themselves is about as democratic as it can be.
I may be a lot of things, but a fool I am not.
Thanks for the visit Joe, it was indeed enlightening.
Sure, Doc. Sounds like you are a person who attaches character judgments to people’s stand on issues, so it is indeed hard to discuss those issues in those circumstances. No one likes labels stamped on their forehead. Thanks for the visit.
Police officers have always been targets of individual vendettas or perceived injustice against a group—- whether it be Black Lives Matter or White militias.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakewood,_Washington_police_officer_shooting there’s that and there’s also similar shootings whilst officers are dining, one which killed 2 in Vegas and again 2 in Maryland.
What makes the shooting tonight particularly bothersome is that it was done from a distance.
Earlier today, there was wall to wall coverage of two separate officer involve shootings in MN and LA… I don’t know why it’s national news. I hope the victims start leveling lawsuits at the media (CNN, FOX, MSNBC) for inciting violence.
the flipside is American gun culture, with the NRA at the helm. Though complicit , I can’t imagine a charge, even if only symbolic. But the tides definitely turning, Americans are finally fighting back against the gun lobby.
that’s my macro take on this…
My micro thoughts on this is that there’s way too many trained folks sharing technical info online, stuff that shouldn’t be public information. I’m curious if the shooters were actually good, if so where they learned and trained, even if they only got lucky (spray and pray) that was still a bit too good considering the distance.
RIP to the officers and quick recovery to those injured.
OT: Joe did you get my article?
I did, and sent you a note. It will run Thursday, July 14, at 3:00 in the afternoon, PH time. It is a great conversation piece, and I thank you for it.
Doc,
Just trying to figure things out my self,you ask why it is violence begets violence.
I think it is because it is because the protest is about police killings. That is a color blind remark,and why would I play the race card?I got the black lives matter from your comment.
I thought josephivo’s comment, https://joeam.com/2016/07/07/the-filipino-files-trolls-and-diplomats/#comment-187743 , was apt re my take on the media’s complicity. I’m sure a good lawyer worth his salt can argue that cable news is manufacturing a perception in which blacks are seemingly being executed for no good reason.
It also doesn’t help that there’s hardly any statistics available to support or defend this perception. I know the NRA lobbied for the CDC not to collate info on this and any gun deaths for that matter, why the FBI doesn’t have this number beats me.
Update:
I thought it was a crowd control type situation last night, hence police officers were lined up accordingly, and with the shooter easy picking. It turns out that it was a pretty lax protest/vigil and the cops were huddled together joking around, or just talking. So to me it’s a tactical issue.
It’s pretty common to see cops especially after an incident, and they are de-briefing or if a bunch of them basically doing static security, it gets boring so they all converge for conversation. The moment there’s 5-10 in a gaggle, a Sgt. or an officer with former military experience should say something like, “a grenade would take all of us out right now”.
A truth said in jest, is all it takes and the gaggle with disband. the Israelis are masters at this, you’ll never see them in clumps or groups in public.
—–
Also, on complicity of the media here, every time the media chooses to endlessly roll these police involve shootings nationally (which happened yesterday morning), they never have around current patrol or training officers conversant in police Use of Force policy. They’ll usually have public defenders or former prosecutors as pundits when reviewing these tapes on TV, but a current or former training officer with lots of patrol experience would fill the nuance.
Violence is a tool, unless someones taken the time to study it, for most people, they’ll see it and go all emotional, no context.
So how about bringing together a panel of current Use of Force training officers, from all big departments across the nation and get this panel to start dissecting all these police-involve shootings, so 1) the public understands 2) outcry is tempered 3) to also educate lesser departments, ie. small town or lowly budgeted departments, who don’t train their officers so well when it comes to Use of Force.
(tactical consideration re gaggle doesn’t only apply to officers, regular folks can use this, ie. stay away from big groups if you can help it; panel to study Use of Force can also translate in the Philippines, especially with all the killings now)
Joe,
I have not been getting any TSH emails in my Inbox. Is that a WordPress thing?
I don’t control it. You might have to sign up again, I dunno how it works. (I just write em; the tech department is really stinko.)
Try the follow button again.
Ok.
When i signed up again, ‘you are already signed up’ was the reply. So I pressed button again, will see later if it works.
*******
LG,
1. Locate the “You are following this blog (manage).” on the right panel.
2. Click on the word “manage.” This is a trigger.
2.1. It triggers a new tab entitled “Manage Followed Sites.”
2.2. The main body of this page will list all the sites you follow.
2.3. Look for “The Society of Honor by Joe America” item in the list.
3. Click on the right arrow (>) just before the item.
3.1. This will expand the item and show two options with sliding Off/On buttons.
o Emails for new posts
o Emails for new comments
3.2. Slide the button to the right to set it ON for both options.
4. Note: If you tick the “Notify me of new comments via email” below the comment submission box, you will receive new comments for the post you are on but not for the whole of JoeAm’s site.
5. You’re welcome.
*****
Great. Will do right now👍
Re, instruction #1. I don’t see the ” you are following …” in the right panel of the article page whether in top, middle or bottom. Neither in the page where we type and post comments. I do tick the 2 circles in the left panel before hitting the post button (instruction#4).
I used to get the email notifications without fail until only recently.
I will try getting in the WordPress.com site. Maybe the noted right panel is there.
Thanks again.
*******
LG, The items on the right panel are:
1. Notes from the editor
2. Upcoming blogs
3. Must read
4. You are following this blog -> manage
5. Recent comments
6. Etc.
Your view might be different because you are in another ecosystem. Although why Apple would present another view is — progressive, innovative, or crazy.
*****
Check your spam folder too LG.
Got them back already by managing my account in the WordPress.com site. But will check spam folder now.
Wow, I should just have checked the Spam folder first, before alerting. The missed emails were there along with the renew your subscription notice from WP.
All your help, Edgar’s and Karl’s appreciated.
1. I noticed two manners in extrajudicial killings. One is done with multiple gun shots (point blank),dead person is tied,killing is done probably at night after kidnapping the target and left dead for the people to see. Second, is a shoot out (with police visibility) with drugs in view to justify the action.
2. Extrajudicial killings in the Philippines is not new. This is a legacy of the Marcos dictatorship when those in the authority politicized the violence as if torture,kidnapping,rape and killing are authorized by the leader himself. I am not surprized at all with the stand of Pres. Duterte who may not experienced the mallaise but was in his prime time during the dictatorship. Much more, his connection with the NPA, we know,which practices the extrajudicial killings to advance their ideology.
3. Extrajudicial killings roots from the weak political and social institutions specially our corrupt and ineffective justice system. I will tell you with bitterness that murders in the Philippines will go unchecked and left to forget specially in the far provinces and towns. Is there intervention from local justices? Nil. Poverty and many excuses are just okay. We can make more babies anyway(I hate this joke donated by my driver).
4. There is no public outcry. If there is, only in the media. For awhile.
5. And that will lead to my contention that these killings will be accepted (and feared) by the common people (emphasis on common without prejudice. Bato bato sa langit,ang tamaan ay wag magagalit)as a means to curve discipine among Filipinos. A social ill. A hidden culture of a close minded society.
6. When I was in Singapore, I saw bills posted in public places which announce thing like this: Civilians must report any doubtful person/thing to the police immediately. By any means, this is to raise public consciousness and trust to the authority. This is so different from the pronouncements of a President that civilians can kill drug pushers. An invitation to violence. Where are we going now? I am afraid not with the killings,but with the weakness to fight the problem (drugs). Is not violence a manifestation of a person’s insecurity and weakness?
Thank you Thea for your information on this big problem.Once again the name Marcos emerges as a causal factor and the weak & corrupt justice system…
Thanks Joe for this article. Because I thought nobody notices whats happening since most are complacent with whats happening. I dont hear any protest that people are being killed or accused without any proof nor evidence being presented.
Protests are starting to occur. Just not yet massed.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/795120/drug-war-spiraling-out-of-control
Trillanes and Kiko Pangilinan supports senate inquiry.
PNP chief says they are meeting a deadline.
FYI. “The Infiltrator”…in theaters this coming Wed., July 13th. A movie about how an undercover US agent, Robert Mazur, brought down South American drug lords in the 1980s. New York Post.
Joe, you must have heard about the guy.
Never heard of the guy. Must be in a different section of the CIA than bloggers. heh heh
We must Learn from what happened to Takshin’s(sp) War on drugs. It did not last.
http://globalnation.inquirer.net/140782/gains-from-thailands-bloody-war-on-drugs-proved-fleeting
As the Mexican drug lord, El Chapo, had said: his arrest won’t cause a dent at all to the drug industry.
Philippine Intel and Armed Forces ought to consider the basis of the Robert Mazur movie, The Infiltrator. See movie first for inspiration, then research.
There is a need for alternative to mass killing.
Well the is the French way in Indo-China 1880’s to the 1940’s..They had official licensed opium dens for opium addicts..And raised a substantial tax revenue in the process…
Did the raised tax on opium stop the habit?
No ! It helped to fund the French colonial regime so the French were pleased with it.
But Ho Chi Minh’s Communists abolished abolished opium dens for nationalist reasons in the North when the defeated French withdrew from Viet Nam. in 1954.
Does Vietnam have a drug problem now?
Thaksin. Read the link. Duterte’s strategy looks like a Thaksin replica.
The Enquirer’s article leaves out some important facts. …
Thaksin Shinawatra elected in 2001. He was re-elected for a second term with an over whelming majority in 2005. The Thai people supported his war on drugs and drug usage dropped while he was in power. . He was over thrown by the Thai military in a coup in 2006.
Good question…Lost track of it.. Not current on Vietnamese history post about 1985
Pretty well known coup vs Thaksin because of corruption. He had not lost hope to return in power.
your opinion is yours but if shared to the public should still be based on facts somehow…
What in the world are you talking about, shey? Are you suggesting that I ought to write only what you want me to write? I’ll tell wild stories if that will make the point clear. If you can’t find any insights from the article, at least don’t deny them to those who can.
Tell us what the real problem is.
And now, 10 days later, the funeral parlors are complaining, since no one is claiming their summarily dead loved ones: who will pay for the services they have rendered? A radio commentator suggested that the LGUs pick up the tab. Yeah. Good luck with that. But, to the OP, yes, there is something profoundly disturbing about a society that treats its people as if they were pests.
Yes, when the enemy is a Filipino father or brother or son or mother or sister or daughter.