Pubdate: Wed, 19 Jan 2005
Source: Mindanao Times (Philippines)
Copyright: 2005 Mindanao Times.
Contact:  http://www.mindanaotimes.com.ph/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2980
Author: Tony Vn. Figueroa
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

EXTRAVAGANZA OF DEATH

IN only the first 15 days of 2005, Davao City's notorious vigilante killers 
have already fatally gunned down 25 persons, some of them, alas, are in 
their teens.

And the extravaganza of street murders is far from over, thanks in part to 
a police leadership who believes in the distorted perception that denying 
the involvement of cops in the carnage can create a good image for himself 
and the corps he represents.

As if to argue that flagrant slaughter is an indispensable way of keeping 
would-be criminals and recidivists from the streets, the city's top 
policeman, wanting to justify the failure of his command to contain the 
hired killers, continues to talk nonsensically.

Law enforcement, we were taught in criminology school, is not just an issue 
of neutralizing lawbreakers, breaking up their contingents, destroying 
instruments of crime, or keeping them in fear against possible law 
enforcement engagement. It, too, involves the assurance to the public that 
crimes, no matter how difficult to solve, have their own way to be resolved.

In a city where the rule of governance is already anchored on impatience, 
revenge, hatred, intimidation, fear, extra-judicial action, and verbal 
insults, the matter of law enforcement has become a footnote to the justice 
system that people expect those at the top are supposed to pursue.

If the criminals do not respect law and order, the appropriate response is 
not always the use of force. Hailing to court suspects is not a reflection 
of compassion to people who committed crime against society. Rather, it is 
an act that satisfies the public perception that civility even amid crisis 
still works in a society where leaders are chosen to lead, not to kill.

Each time another killing is added to the vigilante list, the amount of 
fear generated by it approximates the volume of anger spawned in sectors 
who believe that efficiency in law enforcement is not measured by the 
number of deaths registered, but by the arrests done.

If the argument lies on the premise that criminals know only the language 
of violence as a deterrent, shooting them like ducks on a gallery is not 
even the appropriate response. What if in the end the next victim will be 
the son of the local leader or the pet boy of a police colonel? How would 
that hapless incident register on the mind of people who have always 
embraced the idea that violence, whatever its style, can solve a 
fundamental issue on peace and order?

While we concede that with every street shooting proudly heralded in radio 
and TV broadcast the fear of being the next victim can create public fear 
against committing a crime, the converse effect of such uncivil option has 
far-ranging implication that will eventually destroy even the need to 
reinforce our justice system.

When there are no more criminals to be brought to justice, what need is 
there for our courts to exist? And when the muzzle of the gun has become 
the order of the day, what need is there to hire cops and pursue the matter 
of law enforcement? What we actually need today is get the assurance that 
cops have the capacity to pursue the dignity that go with their uniforms.

It is not correct to say that criminals only know the language of death. By 
allowing suspects to die from summary execution without even the semblance 
of arrest, we openly admit that justice is something that we do not need 
anymore today.

We must not lose track of the fact that with each street murder that is 
committed, two crimes are actually registered in the blotters...that of 
killing the suspect and the execution done by the vigilante. The sad thing 
here is that both crimes will remain, expectedly, as mere statistics.

With the Church helpless in condemning the spate of street murders, the 
extravaganza of death will doubtless continue. And your son, neighbor, 
friend, or kin can be the next target!
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