An assault on our Constitution
We hold elected officials in top government offices in high respect. In my case, I get more awed than confused when our high-strung leaders make policy declarations that seem to blaze new trails because I expect such novel ideas to be conceptualized for no other consideration but the good of the body politic.
At times though, ordinary mortals, like me, do not quite get to understand the full philosophy behind new statements our officials announce. Perhaps, these declarations are so profound that my thought process cannot comprehend. In such instances, rather than suppress my questions, I tend to bring forth my ideas in the hope of finding satisfactory answers to my inquisitiveness.
Let me explore my limited thoughts on the policy direction of his honor, Mayor-elect Tomas R. Osmeña, to award a huge sum of money to police authorities who, while doing their beat, (or even those off duty, as a late incident would show) happen to kill people they believe are robbers, drug lords and the like. For the lack of a more appropriate terminology, I shall refer to this licentious policy as some kind of a "shoot-to-kill" order.
There was a period in my youth that watching "cowboy movies" was my favorite pastime. John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Glen Ford, Franco Nero and the other one who used to star in those films. More often than not, their plots revolved around the liberal use of sixers. The fastest gun alive, so to speak, was the theme. I would recall that in their settings, notices like "WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE... REWARD $500" were posted on tree trunks and bounty hunters would seek and kill the social villains like cattle rustlers, bank robbers and the like. A pistolero would get the poster, hunt the wanted personality and with a quick draw of his gun, eliminate the villains. Then, community peace and order was supposed to reign.
I like to surmise that the ultimate objective of the new "shoot-to-kill" policy of the honorable mayor-elect is not different from what American society, in its early years of governance, adopted. In order to achieve peace and order in our society, "robbers, drug lords and other criminals" have to be eliminated quickly. The rationale being that they have done so much evil to society such that they do not deserve to stay a minute longer on the face of the earth.
Two quick incidents followed the pronouncement of the honorable mayor-elect. Policemen were rewarded for felling criminals. If reports were accurate, one cop got twenty thousand pesos only because the "criminal" was not killed while another policeman (or was it a team of policemen) received fifty thousand pesos for completing the job.
With the elimination of the criminals in the said two incidents, society is supposed to be comparatively more peaceful. After all, the ranks of the outlaws had been reduced. Those who were shot by the police can no longer breach social peace. They are not threats to our personal security.
The incentives provided by the honorable mayor-elect will definitely encourage our police forces to take the extra step. No, they will not just be on the lookout for the lawless elements, because that is too laid-back. That was their protocol for years on end but unfortunately, it did not work well enough for public order. This change in policy is, in the judgment of the mayor-elect, better. With this reward system as a product of a "shoot-to-kill" policy, policemen will aggressively hunt the criminals, as if they are fair game, and in fact, they will feel better in killing them.
In the mind of the mayor-elect, rewarding the policemen is a form of protecting them. Instead of facing administrative proceedings for using their guns in the face of the outlaws, they should be given award for gallantry in public service.
Quite unfortunately, I could not agree with the mayor-elect. From where I sit, I see the strong foundations of due process of law being severely damaged. This policy of the newly elected mayor tends to make our policemen judges and executioners, rolled into one. Instead of arresting felons and bringing them to the bar of justice, they now assume the new role of determining who are criminals. As swiftly as the American cowboys of yore, our men in uniform can and will draw their guns and render death sentence unto the lawless. This process is definitely an aberration to the due process clause that is enshrined in our constitution and he who promotes such an assault to our fundamental law is not the kind of leader our nation seeks.
- Latest
