Breaking the cycle

The Department of National Defense has ordered the AFP to help the PNP serve warrants on suspects connected to the assassination of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo, which followed a string of violent attacks on government officials at the start of 2023. Two brigades and six battalions of the armed forces will help the police in capturing suspects linked to Degamo's assassination.

Political violence has been a persistent issue in Negros for several decades. However, the recent killing of the governor while attending to beneficiaries of a government program in his residence in Pamplona, has shocked the nation because of its audacity and the number of civilians who were killed.

This case should remind us of the continued impunity of extrajudicial violence in Philippine society. In my view, this pattern of violence is closely linked to every other instance of violence that we witness in the public sphere.

This came to mind as I watched on Netflix the 2006 film “Babel” over the weekend. Babel tells of an accident that connects four distinct groups of people across three different continents. The movie highlights how people, living in their own cultures and coping with life’s challenges in their own ways, can be caught up in seemingly unrelated events but which have far-reaching and unexpected consequences. The movie’s theme reminds us that we are all connected, and that our actions, no matter how small, can have significant impacts on others.

This theme of interconnectedness echoes the notion that political killings and violence in the public sphere are not solitary events. Rather, they are linked to an entanglement of social, economic, and political factors that foster the continuation of violence in society.

If we closely examine the actors allegedly involved in the recent killings in Negros --including goons of politicians, politicians themselves, poor civilians, extreme poverty, hotly-contested elections, and competition for resources-- we can say that the underlying issue in such a society is the lack of the rule of law and justice.

A just and stable society requires a legal system that is fair, impartial, and accessible to all. When the system is weak and prone to influence by the wealthy and powerful then might becomes right. In this context, individuals including power players and brokers may feel justified in resorting to means outside the legal and justice frameworks in order to protect their rights or interests.

The deployment of two brigades and six battalions of the military in Negros to enforce the rule of law and maintain peace and order on the island is a testament to the erosion of the rule of law and justice. It is concerning that such a significant amount of the state's coercive powers must be employed to enforce criminal justice and prevent a breakdown of social stability.

Even the seemingly-unrelated extrajudicial killings of drug suspects during the Duterte administration, can be linked to this erosion of the legitimacy of the government and a perpetuation of resentment and a sense of injustice in society. Vigilantism, social inequality, political oligarchy, local bossism, and systemic corruption --these factors often entangle, generating a cycle of instability and turmoil.

There is a way to break this cycle of violence and turmoil, of course. By providing proper education, healthcare, and fundamental social services, societies can be lifted up and empowered to tackle the root causes of political violence. But before we can take those steps to break the cycle of instability and political violence, we must first acknowledge the intricate web of factors that contribute to such political violence.