Before the New Year celebrations, President Rodrigo Duterte railed and ranted against some bishops and priests critical of the killings done in the name of the war against illegal drugs. He said members of the Catholic Church were hypocrites; even popes, he said, have sired children.
He then went on to say that while he believed in God and Allah, he did not believe in religion, adding that he may just organize the Church of Duterte where a man can have five wives.
Was he joking or resorting to hyperbole? Did Mr. Duterte not realize that he was trivializing the faith of 85 percent of Filipinos?
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As the New Year begins, one of the concerns of Filipinos is whether there would be more summary killings. Recall that President Duterte had sought another six months to end the drug menace.
He keeps on saying he does not want to lose momentum on the war and will not stop until the last pusher is alive. Am I correct to assume it will just get bloodier?
Do we now have a killing machine where the chief executive merely says sorry for all the unintended victims? He should do more than apologize. As top cop of the Philippine National Police, he should direct the force to stop the extra-judicial killings that have sown fear and brought international criticism?
Senator Panfilo Lacson has urged the President to compensate these unintended victims. I don’t believe that would be enough. So many have been widowed and orphaned.
There must be justice. Those responsible for the killings should be held accountable. In law, a person is deemed innocent until proven otherwise. Duterte is a lawyer; of course he must know this.
If it is true that there are numerous government officials involved in the drug trade and thousands of drug networks are operating nationwide, then the extra six months will not be enough.
Killing that last drug dealer will never be enough. The bigger problem is rehabilitating the estimated 4 million drug users. The problem will never end so long as there is demand for illegal drugs.
Take it from me. I used to work for the DARE Foundation. Some of the addicts put under our care just returned to their old habits. Drug addiction is a physiological and psychological problem that makes rehabilitation difficult.
What I am trying to say is that Duterte can only minimize the drug problem, not end it. Colombia has been trying to end its own drug problem for 30 years, Mexico for 10 years, all to no avail. Even the United States has its own drug problem—a $30-billion heroin industry. Our neighbors Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and even China have their own drug problems.
Meanwhile, we will continue to live in fear as was shown by a recent survey.
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And then there is concern about a move to oust Duterte within 18 months.
The Liberal Party—the Yellows—continue to deny a plan to oust Duterte and install Leni Robredo. It is a fact that in the United States, some yellows led by a former Yellow senator has been making the rounds of cities, encouraging Filipino Americans to support their cause. He agitates them, saying President Duterte has made tirades against the US. Are the Yellows trying to seek the support of the Central Intelligence Agency?
This is the reason I believe there is truth to the claim that former US Ambassador Philip Goldberg, whom Duterte called “an interfering homosexual,” had some kind of blueprint to oust Duterte. The American Embassy in Manila and the US State Department have denied this, however. It’s a cause for concern, nonetheless.
This is why Congress should dig deeper into the alleged plot to unseat Duterte. Santa Banana, don’t tell me there will be a return of the Yellows with Robredo as president! We have had enough of BS Aquino’s incompetence and vindictiveness for six years. Equally important is that Robredo does not have the qualities of a leader.
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Another item for speculation is the future of Senator Leila de Lima. She has been the target of attempts of the President and his allies in Congress to “destroy” her.
Many cases have been thrown against the former Justice Secretary. Among these is the ethics complaint filed before the Senate by Secretary of Justice Vitaliano Aguirre for her alleged involvement in the illegal drug trade. She supposedly told her driver/ lover Ronnie Dayan to hide and not testify at the House of Representatives.
I cannot empathize or sympathize with de Lima, but I am beginning to admire her fortitude and courage to take everything thrown against her. As to her involvement in the drug trade at Bilibid…well, I reserve my comments until a court of law decides on it.
In the meantime, what we are all seeing in the case of de Lima seems to be a repeat of what BS Aquino did to former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and the late Chief Justice Renato Corona.