Editorial
Impunity in a gun society
THE Sunday PUNCH adds its voice in the condemnation of the atrocious shooting incident mid-morning of June 7 in Urbiztondo town, which claimed three lives — Mayor Ernesto Balolong Jr., his bodyguard, and one civilian – and wounded four others, including three bystanders.
Balolong, one of the most controversial mayors from a municipality with one of the most heated political tensions in Pangasinan, was clearly the target of the shooting, but the killers had no qualms about who else were in the line of fire. And that makes the crime even more chilling.
The Balolong incident shows that hitmen – and there are a good number of them around as evidenced by the number of shooting incidents in the first five months this year alone as reported by the provincial police chief who admitted that mobile criminals remain a major concern for authorities –no longer care if innocent bystanders are killed or maimed together with target politicians, businessmen or journalists. Potential eyewitnesses are now at risk.
The worsening heartlessness of hitmen in this gun society is a reflection of the sense of impunity that pervades among those with firearms, power, money, or any combination of these. It is also a clear indication of the continued helplessness of the authorities to enforce the law and stop such criminalities. It is not ironic, as Gov. Amado Espino Jr. put it, that the cold-blooded murder took place a day after the Pangasinan Provincial Peace and Order Council was convened to discuss the prevention of insurgency as well as what can be done for the overall peace and order situation. What it is is an indication that the authorities appear to be focusing on the wrong priorities and strategies. Guns and impunity – those are at the root of the worst criminalities. For as long as these are not addressed, we won’t have a truly peaceful and orderly society.
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Nothing new at New Bilibid Prison
WHAT is new at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP)?
Early this month saw 12 jail guards relieved for giving special treatment to high-profile convicts. This included a drug lord who was transferred to a private hospital in Manila where a starlet came to visit to allegedly sell a condo unit to the prisoner-patient convicted for life. In May, two other high-profile convicts were also brought to private hospitals in violation of prison rules. In May 2011, P-Noy relieved Ernesto Diokno, his shooting buddy, as NBP director after Diokno had allowed as many as 400 inmates, including a former governor convicted of murder, to go on day trips without authorization. But hardly had Gaudencio Pangilinan, Diokno’s replacement, warmed his seat when he, too, got axed after a murderer serving life was kidnapped inside the NBP grounds. In March 2013, Franklin Jesus Bucayu became the new NBP chief. Then came the “starlet express” visit this month and Bucayu, barely a year in office, is in hot water himself. Amid all the scandals, not one NBP official has been neither charged nor punished. Just relieved – temporarily.
Under P-Noy’s watch, what else is new?
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