ALMOST every day, we are being treated to spectacles on TV where relatives of alleged drug pushers are seen crying and wailing over their violent deaths in the hands of narcotic agents or policemen, and protesting the manner by which their loved ones were “terminated”—“Pinatay na parang baboy, eh, sumurender na nga!”
The questions we have to ask are: How many years have those relatives known of the nefarious activities of those pushers and remained quiet about what they knew and, worse, while benefiting from the fruits of their crimes? How many lives have those pushers ruined over the years (including my own son’s)? If those relatives really cared for them that much as they now seem in front of TV cameras, how come they never did anything to make them stop? They were warned many months ago!
Even assuming some were just being silenced for fear of spilling the beans on law enforcers complicit in their criminal activities, did those relatives really not see it coming when then presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte repeatedly promised to “kill” those who don’t stop dealing in drugs or have them killed one way or the other? Regardless of the reason, a kill is a kill and that counts for more lowlifes erased from the face of this planet.
All these years, there was only lip service paid to the campaign against the drug menace in this country. With very highly-placed military officials and well-entrenched politicos cosseting drug lords who were so generous to them beyond their wildest dreams, was it ever any wonder that the campaign never really got off the ground? (The drug runners at the bottom of the totem pole had never had it so good.) For heaven’s sake, how could drug lords continue doing business while doing life at the New Bilibid Prisons without the higher-ups in previous administrations having any clue about it?
The drug lords, their minions and protectors probably thought Duterte was just like any politician—just kidding around with empty promises. Well, they were dead wrong—and, hopefully, will be dead soon! Yes, we have seen all those tears profusely shed on TV, but as far as many of us are concerned, it’s good riddance. More than 100 down, thousands more to go… But give it time, it’s only been just a few weeks since Duterte wielded the instruments of war against drugs.
—HENRICO H. LACEDA, ricoh_lace@yahoo.com.ph