Political circus

Something is really amiss in the on-going Senate probe on the remarkable number of deaths occurring in the fight against dangerous drugs. It is supposed to be conducted for purposes of enacting the appropriate law to ensure that the rampant killings occurring since the Duterte administration took over around 60 days ago, do not violate the basic human rights of the victims set forth in our Constitution. It is supposed to be a probe in aid of legislation which is the main function of Congress.

But as it is now turning out, the Senate probe appears to be more of a preliminary investigation conducted by State prosecutors to determine whether there is probable cause to charge the law enforcers involved in killing of over a thousand suspected users, pushers and traffickers of dangerous and prohibited drugs; and/or the killing of the suspects who may have slain some nine policemen while resisting arrest. The Senate probe has become more of an investigation in aid of prosecution rather than in aid of legislation. People are now realizing that it would be better for the Senate to stop the probe and let the prosecutors investigate the killings and file the necessary charges in court.

So it is about time for the Senate to stop its probe. Any way it has already established some glaring facts coming from PNP Chief Bato de la Rosa himself. Bato recently told the Senate that policemen resort to killing the suspects only if they resist arrest. On the other hand Duterte insisted in one of his latest press briefing that the police resort to killing the suspects only if there is a violent resistance from the suspects endangering their lives and thus justifying them to kill in self defense. What is actually happening seems to be different from what Duterte has been telling us. These are enough information for the Senate to come up with a legislation setting and clarifying the rules of engagement between law enforcers and suspected criminals.

If the Senate probe will not stop, it will only deteriorate into a personal and mud-slinging bout between President Duterte and Senator De Lima. This is inevitable because Duterte is really so determined, inflexible and obstinate in waging this war against persons and groups who are involved one way or another, in this problem. His determination springs from the fact that he is indeed aware of the extent and the many evils and disastrous effects this problem has caused and will further bring to our country and people. In his determination, he has displayed a tendency to engage in short cuts and remove all stumbling blocks to his path towards a drug-free Philippines. He has reason enough to be so determined in this regard.

 Hence when De Lima initiated Senate probe into the alarming increase in summary executions or extrajudicial killings of drug suspects, Duterte has turned his ire on her and exposed her alleged immoral relationship with her driver, and her alleged connection to the illegal drug trade inside the New Bilibid Prisons. At this stage indeed, public attention is more focus on De Lima’s alleged immoral dalliances because of Duterte’s additional revelations about her new boyfriend. This is the latest talk of the town especially in social media that has almost drawn the public’s attention away from the on-going Senate probe on the drug related extrajudicial killings.

There is really nothing wrong in Duterte’s latest tirades against De Lima. In fact it further shows how extensive and strong are the tentacles of those who are behind these illegal and dangerous activities and practices prevailing all over the country. People now realize that this problem may really lead to the eventual ruin of our just, humane and God-fearing society.

But Duterte must also realize that his stance may draw away the public’s attention from his primary mission in this regard. De Lima is now hugging the limelight and has become the center of attention especially in the media. She has become quite popular and her utterances have been aired and published quite extensively. Based on previous experience, that politics in this country is more of a popularity contest. We know that even notorious personalities have acquired tremendous popularity that they invariably end up running for higher, more powerful government positions, and winning them.

Before talking to the press and airing his exposes against De Lima, Duterte must be sure that he has adequate and competent proofs which are admissible as evidence in court. In this connection, he has announced and mentioned in his latest press briefing, a certain “matrix” containing names of persons with drug links including De Lima. To a lawyer, the word “matrix” is quite novel and has not been used as a legal terminology in the rules of evidence. Literally it means “womb”. Dictionaries also defines it as a “rock in which a gem is embedded” thereby signifying something “solid”. This may be Duterte’s purpose in using the term.

However in the case of Duterte’s “matrix” listing De Lima, the questions that come to mind immediately are: where did this matrix come from? “who made it” and “when was it  formulated?. These unanswered questions indeed render such matrix quite unreliable as evidence. In fact De Lima has even considered it as another “joke” similar to Duterte’s recent “ joke” about quitting as member of the UN.

What is happening now in our country is another a political circus indeed. The lower house even came into the picture to probe Duterte’s allegations against De Lima. Now we have a probe in the Lower House of the very person who initiated the probe in the Upper House of Congress. This is not the “change” we are expecting to come.

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