"Elevate those guns a little lower." -- Andrew Jackson
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW JERSEY -- We laud Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Ronaldo "Bato" Dela Rosa for finally breaking the usual practice of sealing off policemen's guns ahead of the New Year festivities.
We were among those in the media who criticized the move, which was the brainchild of past PNP leadership starting during the time of former President and now Manila Mayor Joseph "Erap" Estrada.
We considered the order as "unnecessary" and "suicidal."
When the guns of our lawmen were sealed off, they could not respond to emergency cases or crimes. They would be like sitting ducks if armed criminals or terrorists attacked them vice versa.
The purpose of sealing off their guns was to prevent them from firing indiscriminately during New Year celebration.
This was on top of the "stern" warning from the PNP hierarchy that they would be dealt with accordingly if they used their guns to celebrate New Year.
PROFESSIONAL
Stern or whatever warning is also not necessary for professional cops or military men. Only scalawags and bad eggs will disobey and ignore lawful orders.
Each year since the order was made, reports showed that many innocent civilians, some of them children, were injured and killed after being hit by stray bullets fired during the New Year's eve.
Either the stray bullets came from the firearms of some rogue cops or undisciplined military personnel who ignored the order from their higher command, or from the guns of trigger-happy civilians.
There are many loose firearms in the hands of drunken maniacs who don't give a hoot if innocent bystanders and children are injured or killed as long as they will fire these guns during the New Year revelry.
DOUBLE
Police should double their efforts to round them up as preventive measure. There should be no ifs and buts for those caught in possession of these unlicensed guns.
There should be no exemptions. No padrino or political considerations. No palakasan. No kumpare or kumare system.
Eliot Spitzer once said: "Yes, people pull the trigger - but guns are the instrument of death. Gun control is necessary, and delay means more death and horror."
In fact, even without a New Year celebration or election gun ban, possession of loose firearms is illegal and punishable by imprisonment.
An ounce of prevention is always better than a pound of cure.
"A good reputation is more valuable than money."
-- Publilius Syrus
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW JERSEY -- In the government-led battle against illegal drugs in the Philippines in 2016, Iloilo City could be the biggest "winner" if the number of murdered and "neutralized" drug lords, small-time traffickers, and drug addicts is used as the barometer.
With a population of 424,619, Iloilo City could also be the biggest "loser" when it comes to the "shame campaign" initiated by President Rodrigo Duterte immediately after he assumed office in July.
Among those slain in the brutal crackdown against drug pushers was the Odicta couple, Melvin and Meriam, of Iloilo City. They were killed by unidentified gunmen in Caticlan Port in Aklan on their way back after "surrendering" to Interior and Local Government Secretary Mike Sueno in Quezon City in August.
The Odictas were the country's biggest names in illegal drug trafficking to fall in 2016. Following their death, some of the couple's top runners were either killed in "encounters" with police or arrested.
'SHABULIZED'
Aside from naming Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog, ranked No. 5 in the 2014 World Mayor, as alleged protector of illegal drugs, Duterte also called the "City of Love" the "most shabulized city" in the country.
The tag, strongly belied and disputed by Mabilog and other local officials, demoralized some Ilonggos, especially those living in other parts of the world who suspected politics behind the "smear" drive.
Duterte also named three other prominent Iloilo mayors as "narco-politicians": Alex Centena of Calinog, Siegfredo Betita of Carles and and Mariano Malones of Maasin.
Like Mabilog, they all cried foul.
Duterte based his accusations on the list provided by his intelligence henchmen who had been tipped off by narcotics agents, some of them were reportedly allies of political rivals of those on the list.
SHAME
The shame campaign, which caught many local chef executives whose names were on the list flat-footed, didn't prove the guilt of the maligned mayors and governors.
Duterte, in fact, had flip-flopped and apologized to some of those he mentioned in the list, underscoring suspicions that he was fed with half-baked if not unverified reports from the field.
Two of them, Mayor Samsudin Dimaukom of Datu Saudi Ampatuan, Maguindanao and Mayor Rolando Espinosa of Albuera, Leyte, however, were killed by police in separate encounters--all related to Duterte's nationwide campaign against illegal drugs.
Some three thousand suspected drug traffickers and drug addicts have been summarily executed since Duterte and his national police director, Chief Supt. Ronaldo "Bato" Dela Rosa launched the "all-out" war against illegal drugs in the country.
RIGHTS
Human rights advocates in the Philippines and abroad have criticized the apparent state-run extra-judicial killings (EJKs) and asked the president to halt the carnage.
They expressed alarm that some of those killed by lawmen in alleged "shootouts" were suspected pushers and young drug addicts and not convicted criminals.
Senator Leila De Lima, a former Commission on Human Rights commissioner, questioned the EJKs saying criminals are presumed innocent until proven by the court.
Duterte, who vowed to wipe out criminality in the country within six months starting in July, responded with derision and called his critics "SOB."
When the president and Dela Rosa could not meet the six-month deadline, Duterte asked for extension.
Killings are feared to escalate anew in 2017.
