Punchline
Going to war
By Ermin Garcia Jr.
THOUSANDS of families in Pangasinan stand to be directly benefitted by the pledge and commitment of Guv Spines, in particular, to engage drug lords, syndicates and pushers in a total war before his final term as governor ends in 2016.
That should be enough motivation for him to go to war against phantom enemies operating in the barangays.
Note that I intentionally cited Guv Spines only because it is a war that can only be won through leadership by example. The commitment and performance of the mayors, the kapitans, the police chiefs and others will largely depend on how he leads and uses the resources available to him to win the war. He can be sure everyone will cool off faster than he can blink his eyes with just with one situation that reflects his half-heartedness or indecision during the campaign.
This war for Guv Spines will not be easy but he chose to do it, and I salute him for it. But he knows too well that the only way to succeed is for him to be in the frontline to keep the drug lords running for their lives 24/7!
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LEGACY WAITING TO HAPPEN. If, indeed, Guv Spines, succeeds in declaring Pangasinan the first province in the country to be drug-free, his son Pogi can claim a free ticket to the governor’s office, and Cong Mark will have to be extra creative to outdo a performance being bequeathed by Guv Spines to his son Pogi.
Understandably, the skeptics and his detractors scoff at his pledge, saying it may already be too late in the day since he will be busy campaigning for his son. Others may sneer at his display of hubris at this time, branding it as another attempt at earning pogi points for himself or for brownie points for his son Pogi. Then, the drug lords would perhaps snicker at his brave words believing it’s all hot air, knowing that all it takes is to deliver bags of cash to police chiefs to foil all his planned raids and buy-bust operations.
The bottom line perhaps for many is, realistically, he may not be able to declare all towns and cities as drug-free in time. However, if he succeeds in establishing a momentum never seen in the past, he will very well leave another legacy that would be hard to match by his successor, whether it will be his son Pogi or Cong. Mark C.
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SCORECARD. Guv’s believers know that nothing is impossible for him if he really puts his heart into it like he said he would. He has a track record to prove it, they say.
Personally, my sense of it is, if Guv Spines succeeded in accomplishing unprecedented targets and sustaining his gains in the past when nobody was looking, perhaps, he can do a lot more when all eyes are on him this time. He certainly can prove his detractors wrong, even do better than Davao Mayor Duterte in dealing with the drug lords. The only question is: Will he eventually consciously drop the ball?
I and millions out there want him to succeed, so I’d like to help by setting up a scorecard for him in The PUNCH to help him keep his eyes on the worst enemies of the people, the vicious drug lords.
The weekly scorecard will look like this starting January:
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WAR VS. DRUGS (As of January 1, 2015)
No. of Drug-Free Barangays: 0
No. of Drug-Free Towns/ Cities: 0
Total arrests made: 0
Total convictions won: 0
Total volume of shabu seized: 0
Total volume of marijuana seized: 0
Gov’t Casualties: 0
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I am sure PIO chief Butch Velasco can keep us posted on the tally every week. Just a word of caution: Communities can easily validate tallies posted in the scorecard!
Guv Spines’ scorecard by December 30, 2015 will help determine if another Espino legacy is in the offing. Good luck Guv! And good hunting for the families in the province who need to be saved!
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INSIDE JOB. The “hoodlums in uniforms” clearly struck to cover up and protect a fellow hoodlum.
It is simply not possible that joint elements of the Bayambang Police led by Superintendent Gaston Cafongtan, chief of police; the Provincial Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operation Task Force, the Provincial Intelligence in coordination with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) were a bunch of nincompoops that did a buy-bust operation for the first time in their lives.
They are experienced in drug operations and knew the law. They could easily tell shabu from tawas. They knew they had Bayambang’s PO1 Sander Claveria nailed down pat when they busted him. They had an airtight case having done a well-planned buy-bust operation.
At the same time, I have no doubt that the Crime Laboratory discovered “tawas” and not shabu. It’s what was submitted to it, no doubt.
So who switched the evidence to get Claveria off the hook? He/they must have thought Pangasinenses are stupid and gullible enough to fall for a sloppy cover-up.
P/Sr. Supt. Reynaldo Biay’s credibility and integrity are at stake in this clear case of cover-up. If he can’t find the culprit/s, he doesn’t deserve to stay another day even as OIC-PD in Pangasinan.
Guv Spines, himself, must not rest until the hoodlums are exposed. If he can’t rid the police force of criminals, he already lost the war vs. illegal drugs before it can even get off the ground.
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CONTRA- PINOY CULTURE. There is a bill filed in the Senate that’s full of good intentions but will definitely create havoc in millions of families’ lifestyles, if passed.
I refer to S.B. 2488 TITLED: “TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF CHILDREN ABOARD TWO-WHEELED MOTORCYCLES TRAVELLING ALONG PUBLIC AND PRIVATE ROADS,” sponsored by Senators Tito Sotto and Bong Revilla.
Its short title reads: “”Prohibition on Children Riding Motorcycles Act of 2011″
Premise: “It is the policy of the state to defend the right of children to assistance, including proper care and nutrition, and special protection from all forms of neglect, abuse, cruelty, exploitation, and other conditions prejudicial to their development.”
Exception: “Notwithstanding the prohibition provided in the preceding section, this act shall not apply to the acts committed in remote places or provinces wherein there is no considerable vehicular traffic and where motorcycles arc the only means of transportation. It shall likewise not apply to emergency cases or situations wherein riding a motorcycle arc the sole means reaching the hospitals.”
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PAGING CONGRESSMEN. The bill, if it becomes law, will prevent families to use their motorcycles that have served a lifestyle they have known for years – to use the family-owned motorcycle to bring kids to schools, relatives, movies, parks, etc.
Gosh, I thought we have enough problems dealing with motorcycles, particularly its misuse by criminals as fast getaway vehicles after committing crimes. It has become so serious that motorcycles are already practically considered lethal instruments when used by criminals.
But this Sotto-Revilla bill is more lethal for it kills a culture and discriminates against families who can only afford and depend on motorcycles as family vehicles. What the bill should have prescribed mainly was to require all passengers, adults and children to wear protective helmets, period.
Anyway, fortunately, the senate bill alone cannot become law unless there is a counterpart bill from the House of Representatives. Let’s hope our Congress representatives will move swiftly to kill a counterpart bill in the House.
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