Pubdate: Fri, 12 Aug 2016
Source: Philippine Star (Philippines)
Column: Sketches
Copyright: PhilSTAR Daily Inc. 2016
Contact:  http://www.philstar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/622
Author: Ana Marie Pamintuan

MODUS VIVENDI

The killings will continue, but martial law is not in the picture - 
that's my reading of President Duterte's speech directed at Chief 
Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno.

This administration doesn't need martial law, although it might 
declare a state of emergency in Sulu to crush the Abu Sayyaf. If the 
ongoing nationwide killing spree is sustained at its current rate, it 
may even surpass the body count of victims during martial law. 
Ferdinand Marcos at least tried to coat his authoritarian acts with 
legal niceties.

In a country where public officials often abuse power, the tiff 
between President Duterte and Sereno may prove healthy for the system 
of checks and balances.

It's the job of the nation's chief magistrate to remind everyone - 
the president included - about the rule of law and constitutional 
guarantees on due process and presumption of innocence.

On the other hand, the weakness of the rule of law is precisely the 
reason why there is such overwhelming public support for the ongoing 
shortcuts in law enforcement. There are Filipinos who now seem to 
believe unruly behavior in a traffic accident merits being beaten by 
police and then being shot dead. Such attitude stems from the failure 
of law enforcement and the criminal justice system.

Both the President and Chief Justice have laudable objectives in 
performing their jobs. They should be able to reach a modus vivendi 
as they go about achieving their objectives without compromising each 
other's independence or precipitating a constitutional crisis.

President Rody has shown no sign of letting up in his vicious war on 
drugs. He has amply made his point, to the surprise of many: the drug 
problem has become so pervasive, with politicians, police and 
military officers corrupted by drug money or directly engaged in the 
illegal drug trade. If his intel is accurate, even judges and 
prosecutors have been bought.

*

As bodies of drug suspects pile up by the hundreds, the President's 
ruthless war still seems to be enjoying wide public support, to the 
dismay of human rights advocates.

Certain people living in underprivileged communities in Mindanao sent 
word to our paper that several of those on the drug list from the 
south are not only drug dealers but also kidnappers and extortionists 
who kill victims who refuse to pay up.

Ordinary people have few choices for local government positions, our 
sources said, because drug dealers and kidnappers are fighting among 
themselves for political control, using dirty money to finance their 
election campaigns. Several names are not yet on the drug list, the 
sources said.

Yesterday, a professional driver from Caloocan, where many of the 
recent drug killings have taken place, told me about a couple shot 
dead by a barber they were feuding with as they all emerged from a 
barangay hall in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan. The woman was pregnant 
with twins and lost both babies. The barber is at large. In Makati, 
the driver told me, a young woman was also shot dead by a mugger who 
fled with her P1,000 cash. The mugger also escaped.

If the two killers are caught and shot dead by police, the driver 
told me, there would be a howl about their human rights. But what 
about the rights of the crime victims, particularly the woman with 
unborn twins?

It's not the first time that I've heard such sentiments from people 
from underprivileged communities since Rodrigo Duterte won the 
presidency. They haven't heard of the admonition to be careful what 
you wish for. Those people simply believe this President is moving 
decisively  never mind brutally  to keep them safe.

* * *

Even the President's pique at Sereno has struck a sympathetic chord 
among people (perhaps 99.9 percent of the population) frustrated with 
the snail-paced, inefficient and often corrupted criminal justice system.

The President was being kind when he said it would take at least two 
to three months before an arrest warrant could be issued for drug 
suspects - an estimated 600,000 people, he said - and 10 years to 
finish adjudication.

During his meeting with The STAR last week, the President also 
explained the problems in trying to pin down even notorious drug 
traffickers. Even if cops know that a person is a top drug dealer, 
unless he is actually caught selling the prohibited substance, or if 
workers caught in a shabu laboratory point to the drug lord as the 
operator, it's possible that the charge against him may be downgraded 
to possession.

A corrupt judge can then find an excuse to free the drug lord on 
bail. If the drug lord finds a corrupt immigration officer who will 
allow him to leave the country, then he's home free.

Left unsaid was whether President Rody and his shock troops found it 
simpler to just shoot the drug lord dead, and strew evidence to 
justify the kill.

Even presence in a shabu lab is no guarantee of pinning down drug 
suspects. Consider the case of Marine Lt. Col. Ferdinand Marcelino 
and Chinese national Yan Yi Shou, who were cleared of drug raps by a 
government prosecutor recently. The two were caught in a raid on a 
shabu laboratory in Paranaque earlier this year by the Philippine 
Drug Enforcement Agency. The government is appealing the dismissal of the case.

Prosecutors and judges, however, also have a point when they say 
certain drug cases have to be dismissed by the courts because of the 
sloppy conduct of police raids, handling of evidence or arrest of suspects.

The Philippine National Police should thoroughly brief its members on 
the rules in carrying out raids, arrests and seizure of evidence to 
ensure that drug cases will stand in court. Never mind if judges or 
prosecutors are vulnerable to corruption with drug money; if they are 
given no technical loopholes for dismissing a case, they may think 
twice about selling justice.

More lists of "narco-officials" will reportedly be released. 
President Rody also told us that they have to validate the exact 
participation of each official in the drug trade.

There's a difference, he told us, between an official who intercedes 
with the police on behalf of a drug personality by saying the suspect 
is his man - "huwag mong galawin, bata ko yan" - and the official who 
says the suspect's illegal activities have his blessings - "cleared 
huwag mong galawin, sa akin yan."

Both the President and the Chief Justice have national interest at 
heart. There must be a way of reconciling their means for achieving 
the same end.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom