Again, what’s happening to our country, general?

The May 4 issue of the Inquirer carried a scathing editorial (“Big-shot fugitives”) which touched on the “celebrated” walkout of Cezar Mancao from his detention cell inside the National Bureau of Investigation headquarters last May 2. To quote: “In the wake of another purported massive manhunt launched to locate the latest high-profile fugitive, Mancao was still able to grant phone interviews to TV stations—10 hours after he ambled out of the NBI ….” He didn’t “stride” out. He didn’t “run” out. He “ambled” out!

That makes it No. 6, goes the editorial, in the latest addition to the “celebrity list” of escapees, namely Joel Reyes, Mario Reyes, Jovito Palparan, Ruben Ecleo Jr. and Delfin Lee.

It’s most “reassuring” to learn that the head of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group insists that the Reyes brothers—shown on video passing through an immigration counter on their way out of Ninoy Aquino International Airport, escorted by two immigration officers—are somewhere in Timbuktu!

What do these high-profile individuals have in common? That old Filipino modus operandi, position of power, wealth, and convenient “attachments”! As with that delicious “pork barrel,” this government disservice is yet another evil that our past and present administrations have chosen to do nothing about.

“The country is still waiting,” concludes the editorial, “and its patience is growing thinner by the minute.”

There are various possible responses to that well-known question that wounded

Emmanuel Pelaez asked following an ambush:  “What is happening to our country, general?” The simple answer is … plenty!

—BOBBY G. KRAUT,

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