Did I hear it right? Did the police really say there is no extrajudicial killing in the Philippines?
Is this one of President Duterte’s jokes? Or are his officials resorting to hyperbole again?
It’s getting from bad to worse. I am talking about local and international criticism of the drug war.
Just read the argument of the police and Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano in defense of the indefensible.
The police and Duterte allies and supporters argue that there is no such thing as extrajudicial killings because we don’t have death penalty here.
It does not follow. The premise is wrong. The death penalty is not judicial killing. When killings are done by violating human rights, they are deemed extrajudicial.
Thus, when the police and administration officials argue that we have a score of “zero” in EJKs, they assume we are stupid. Could the other 39 members of the United Nations be stupid not to know that EJKs are being committed here?
There are those who claim that the honeymoon period is over and this is why the satisfaction ratings of President Duterte have declined. Others say the decline was self-inflicted. I say it’s because the people around the President do not think the people are discerning enough. But we are!
Whether or not the decline in people’s satisfaction with the President is the start of the freefall is a matter of speculation.
In an earlier column I said the President has enough time to rethink his bloody war on drugs. He must realize that the drug problem is not only an issue of peace and order. It is about poverty and health, too.
Other countries have drug problems. But they don’t kill everybody they believe is involved in it.
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AFP Chief of Staff Eduardo Año and PP Director General Ronald dela Rosa both think the country has so much democratic space that people are lacking in discipline. So would they rather have a despot? It would appear so.
I say this is a cause for concern. Both the military and the police chief believe that we need a tyrant to instill discipline among the people. And both have the power to install somebody in the position, even without the consent of the people.
Are we headed that way?
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The death of Washington Sycip is mourned by many. I join them, especially since I had the privilege of knowing him.
I first met Wash when he started SGV with his friend, Alfred Velayo. At that time, Wash’s father was chairman and president of China Bank and I would go to his office when I was business editor of the Philippines Herald. Don Albino would talk about his children—David, Washington and Alexander.
I became a close friend of David.
The last time I saw Wash was when he was given a birthday party by Bobby Ongpin—his youngest-ever managing partner at age 26. Boby was my student in Ateneo High School.
Wash became known for his charitable works and love of country. He was a nation-builder.
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Speaking of Bobby Ongpin, his Alphaland Baguio Mountain Lodge, referred to as the Forbes Park of Baguio City, is almost finished. The place has all the amenities one can dream of. It also has a concrete perimeter fence. The site enjoys lush Benguet pine air.
I love seeing the place even if I cannot afford to buy a home.