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.

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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.

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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 Parañaque 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 – “huwag mong galawin, cleared 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.