‘Perceptions stain reality’

While watching an episode of the series “Zoo” at Netflix, an animal behavior specialist and an African safari animal tracker talked about the unprovoked attacks to humans by lions, bears, wolves, bats, and even by household dogs and cats.

It turns out the animal attacks were caused by ingestion of a chemical used for medicine, animal food products and pesticides manufactured by an unscrupulous multinational company. The ill side effects on genes – as seen through the eyes of the animals – have turned their behavior into defiance of the humans.

With subtitles, the conversation of two characters of this fiction story ended with a statement made by one of them:  “Perceptions stain reality.”

It brings to mind how President Rodrigo Duterte is finding himself in such a situation. President Duterte is obviously being weighed down by public perception. In his case, it’s not the eyes – but the “rural mouth” as President Duterte described it – that has apparently been causing the perception problems about him before his audience here and abroad.

Citing he considers this part of the face as his asset, President Duterte earlier admitted his mouth is both his weakness and strength.

So taking the cue from the presidential admission, Duterte’s bitter critics and arch nemesis here and outside the Philippines see this an opportunity to strike at his weakness.

But they have a lot of grounds to work on. With 91% trust and approval rating during his first 50 days in office, it would take a lot of more Duterte-talks to undo him in the next round of opinion surveys.

At the Kapihan sa Manila Bay last week, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. staunchly defended President Duterte’s controversial pronouncements over alleged extra judicial killings under his administration’s war against illegal drugs. President Duterte is being taken to task for his repeated public avowals: “We will kill them (drug pushers) all.”

When the President makes statements, Esperon argued, such as “papatay” (to have pushers killed”) is just a matter of “perception.” Esperon pointed out the President is only addressing them to criminals when he makes such statements.

“This goes to the perception of the public vis a vis the perception of the criminal. Is the President prohibited from making threats? Is the President not allowed to get angry at criminals? Shouldn’t it be his role to break criminals? Should the President instead say, ‘Go ahead and sell (drugs)?’ Or would you rather hear him that he say, ‘I will have drug pushers and drug lords killed’?” Esperon rhetorically asked.

Esperon noted media’s headlines about reported killings of drug suspects do not distinguish or clarify who committed alleged “extra-judicial killing” incidents. “When you say the word ‘extra-judicial killings,’ extra-judicial means it was perpetrated outside the law. But are we sure that police were behind these unsolved killings? Or, are these results of killings done by the drug lords or those who now have something to hide or are now covering their tracks? That has yet to be resolved,” Esperon pointed out.

Based from official records of the Philippine National Police (PNP), a total of 1,247 drug personalities have been killed during encounter/operations since July 1 until yesterday morning. Or this is the death toll from the start of “Double Barrel” war against illegal drugs under the 90-day old Duterte administration.

On the other hand, the PNP classified 1,971 drug personalities as victims as DUI, or deaths under investigation either as homicide or murder cases from July 1 to Sept. 20. Of this total DUI, the PNP has filed 311 cases and solved 197 of them while the rest are the suspects are still-at-large.

But the PNP maintains these DUI cases are not necessarily extra-judicial or summary killings.

In carrying out Duterte war against illegal drugs, the PNP reported casualties from their own ranks. Killed in police operations were 13 policemen and 36 wounded. As Commander-in-chief, President Duterte paid his last respects to some of the slain policemen and grieved with their widows and orphans while handing out scholarships and burial assistance to them.

Esperon stressed anew the mission of the Duterte administration to win the war against drugs. “Do you want there to be more than 3.5 to 3.7 million drug addicts (in the country today)? We want to put things in order. Drug (trafficking) has to end,” the National Security Adviser declared.

This is why, Esperon disclosed, the Duterte administration has elevated illegal drugs problem among the immediate threats to our country’s national security and peace and order.

It can be argued, however, such very strong statements of President Duterte in all his extemporaneous speeches give the public perception that he is resorting to extra-judicial killings. Worse, the President’s public declarations were being taken to mean it has his imprimatur to law enforcers. When the Commander In Chief tells government troopers and law enforcers “we must kill them all,“ the perception – if not the message itself – is that it is state sanctioned.

Thus, President Duterte has to contend not only with local human rights advocates groups but also with international bodies like the United Nations and foreign governments from the European Union and the United States. Trying to project he is least perturbed by these cacophony of his human rights critics, he lamented anew these “bleeding hearts” for the drug pushers are ganging up on him while ignoring the many Filipino families destroyed by “shabu” and victims of these narcos.

President Duterte reiterated yesterday at his inspection visit in Arayat, Pampanga, he is what he is. The President told the Filipino nation they must accept he may be a foul-mouthed leader who does what he says and means what he says. When he is wrong, the President reaffirmed he is ready to accept his mistake, apologize and make amends. But that would not stop him from the drugs war.

No amount though of explanations on drug-related killings repeated over and over by President Duterte would suffice. These were being blurred now that it has become a football in the vast political field.

Sadly, public perceptions – rightly or wrongly – indeed stain reality in the Philippines.

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Sen. JV Ejercito is our guest today at the Kapihan sa Manila Bay at Café Adriatico in Malate, Manila.