Too Alarming!

                                                                                                  Too alarming!                         

I was busy surfing the net when I noticed a news article that was posted on the ABS-CBN News website last September 3, 2016. I was alarmed by the fact that a four-year-old child named Althea Fhem Barbon — the youngest casualty of the nationwide drug campaign — was accidentally killed during a sting drug operation after members of the Guihulngan City police targeted her father, a suspected drug dealer.

 It is quite disheartening to know that extrajudicial killings exist. I understand that President Rodrigo Duterte has his tough stand against crime and drugs to clean the streets by punishing those drug pushers, drug users, syndicates and want-to-be criminals. I also understand that there are many people who are counting on him in making our country a safer place for the future of our families.

I am not against President Duterte’s stand against illegal drugs and criminality, besides, he has a lot of commendable ways in cracking down violence and criminality that I even support such as conducting strict checkpoints all over the country, imposing curfew on minors by 10 o’clock in the evening and karaoke night sessions by 9 o’clock in the evening, and prohibiting the sale of alcoholic beverages from 1 a.m. to 8 a.m. and etc.

However, I think there are better ways to curb illegal drugs and criminality here in our country than the felonious killings that has no sanction of any judicial proceeding or legal process. With this, most of us ironically end up fearing for our lives instead of living in a safer environment.

Reaped from the 10 Commandments of God, the fifth commandant states that “Thou shall not kill.” An act of killing or the word itself — kill, is not appropriate and a bad thing whether the one who did it is in a higher position, has a mission order or has made it by accident. Drug misuse is already punishable and killing, which is considered as a solution, is also a punishable act. A mistake can never be corrected by another mistake. As quoted by Ayn Rand, “The end does not justify the means. No one’s right cannot be secured by the violation of the rights of others.”

Moreover, rampant killings in our society violates our human rights. As stated in the 1987 Philippine Constitution, Article III, Bill Of Rights, Sec.1, “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.”

Do we really need to entail extrajudicial methods? We all dream to have a safer and better place to live in. We want all means of criminality in our country to be suppressed. What had happened to the late innocent Althea Fhem Barbon, is an eye opener to all of us. Innocent people are being affected.  For sure, there has to be other ways of cracking down illegal drugs and criminality in our society with the sanction of any judicial proceeding or legal process. Extrajudicial method is not the best way to solve it. We need to do something about it especially if safety in our family, surroundings and in ourselves is what we are really talking about.

                                                                                                                                                                   

Change is Happening

Change is happening

By The Builder’s Block

It was almost midnight when all of our neighbor’s household lights were turned off. I was still wide awake and alone in the living room when all I could hear is the ticking of the clock. I needed a buddy to accompany me while I was still studying back then, so I decided to turn on our television set without any hesitation. Audio came in first before the visuals, and I immediately recognized Ted Failon’s voice in his show Failon Ngayon, talking about thousands of self-confessed drug users and pushers who surrendered themselves to the authorities by signing a document that they intend to reform without being forced to do so.

Hearing that phenomenal thing was alarming in a way that there are thousands of people who surrendered. Knowing that we still don’t have enough facilities for it, how can our government cater them? And, what is the government’s plan when it comes to changing their lives? These are our concerns that the government should prioritize.

As what I heard during the well-calibrated inaugural speech of Rodrigo “Digong” Duterte on June 30, he said, “There are many amongst us who advance the assessment that the problems that bedevil our country today with need to be addressed with urgency, are corruption both in high and low echelons of government, criminality in streets and rampant sale of illegal drug in all strata of Philippine society and the breakdown of law and order.”

I think that our newly president’s speech in cracking down illegal drug activities, is the reason why there is an incremental increase of numbers of people who choose to surrender. This may sound ridiculous but it’s halfway true. Thousands of people surrendering every day is not a joke anyway. This is a great responsibility that the government needs to prioritize.

I am not against Duterte’s plans for change. Everybody loves to have change, because it is a good start for the betterment of our country. But the government should first strengthen its foundation before implementing whatever is needed to be implemented in order to have a strong post to start. There should be a good quality of service and an enough allocation of funds not just for food and health but also for the facilities, especially rehabilitation centers that the Peace and Order section needs. Also, the government should create some programs for those who have undergone rehab so that they will no longer be tempted in doing illegal activities again and will be more focus on improving their own lives into a better one instead.

Well, I hope that all of those aforementioned suggestions will be given attention by the government. But, it is up to our president on how will he cater the concerns of his people.

Looking through the result from the hard-strive implementation of Duterte’s rules, thousands of drug users and pushers who chose to surrender can be considered as a one-of-a-kind-nation-journey experience. Hopefully, this move is a sign of a good quality of change that will happen in our country for the upcoming six years of service of Rodrigo “Digong” Duterte in the government.

So, let’s adapt to changes for it is happening-NOW!