Young ROOTS

Areglo

By Mary Jelly Amrosio

Watch the evening news and it hits you how much crime there is in our society today.

But it is so different watching it on television, or reading about it in the newspapers, or even listening to it on the radio. It is not quite the real thing.

And the reality is, many of the crimes that happen around us are unheard of, written about, or reported on broadcast media. This is partly because there is such a thing as Areglo.

It is a Tagalog term for an agreement — an agreement not to file charges and not to publicize the incident.  Certain conditions are agreed upon by both parties for the areglo.

According to Nimre Calde, a political scientist from the University of the Philippines Baguio, an areglo usually and traditionally happens in the presence of a barangay official, but it can also simply be just between the two concerned parties.

I have mixed feelings about the areglo concept.

And I speak from my family’s experience as in the case of my cousin who was stabbed.

The incident happened during the barangay fiesta of Pangapisan North Lingayen, where we live.

My cousin and his friends were drinking beer and little did he know that one his drinking-mates at the time was also under the influence of drugs.

This friend was apparently   pissed by my cousin’s supposedly arrogant way of talking so when this friend found a chance, he took a knife and casually stabbed my cousin twice.

Our family was about to go to the police and file charges when the suspect’s family came to our house to talk to my aunt. They said that they would pay for all the damages they have caused including the hospital  bills and  medicines and would give my cousin a monthly allowance while still recovering.

This offer entailed a condition that we would not publicize the incident and not file a case against them. When they came to our house, they used an “appeal-to-the-emotions” strategy.

They cried and invoked our blood relationship even if the connections are already very far down the generation line. They also said that we should just areglo the whole thing to avoid scandal because we live in the same barangay.

My aunt consulted my father, being the eldest and the only son in their family.

My father said that if they only had money, they should push through with the charges. But unfortunately they didn’t.

And because the family did not have the money to pay for the hospital bills and to file charges, my aunt finally agreed to the areglo.

I guess the areglo was somehow good for both parties in terms of time, money and effort. Indeed it was a mutually beneficial arrangement.

But I am bothered by the idea of justice, about irresponsible drinking and illegal drugs, and about poverty.

I wonder, how many other poor families out there are forced to areglo?

(Readers may reach columnist at marifijara@gmail.com. For past columns, click http://sundaypunch.prepys.com/archives/category/opinion/roots/
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