Punchline
Business as usual for Binloc Gang
By Ermin Garcia Jr.
DAGUPAN made big news last week when combined elements of the Dagupan City Police, provincial PNP, PDEA, LTO, naval Intel, Regional Intel Unit raided a drug den in Barangay Bonuan Binloc.
A number of young female suspects, not your usual profile of ugly goons, were arrested, and P2 million worth of shabu was seized. Great but frankly, it really was not so great. But this is not to belittle or to pooh-pooh the painstaking efforts of our police and PDEA teams.
Simply that given what the city is faced with, a raid is a raid and is only good until the next raid, at least in Bonuan Binloc. Why so? The drug ringleaders are still out there. The same barangay officials that allow the drug trade to thrive in the community are still sitting pretty in the barangay halls. And, as my city hall sources told me, the city’s DILG office did not even bother to investigate why the barangay officials did nothing over the years to stop the drug trade, and allowed it to thrive in the barangay.
Binloc Kap Pedro Gonzales and the members of the Binloc gang (kagawads) did not even get slightest slap on their wrists from DILG’s Rhoderick Dawis. (Mayor Belen Fernandez also said she would ask Kap Gonzales to explain his absence and the delay in the response of the members of the “gang” during the raid but we have no confirmation of this having happened).
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The barangay residents had hoped that the barangay officials would at least be charged for dereliction of duty, at the very least, but obviously, it’s not going to happen.
And the P2-M worth of shabu? That was just a drop in the bucket! For the ringleaders and their cohorts, it was just like missing one merienda at the fastfood. No real harm done. It will still be business as usual in the barangay.
So, I doff my hat to Kap Gonzales and the Binloc Gang. Ang lakas nyo talaga!
I can only wish that the dedicated men and women in uniform will never tire of planning to collar the bigger fish all because their enemy is protected by public officials.
Meanwhile, I hope the friends and relatives of the young persons who were caught in the raid and could not file bail shall have learned that being caught is always a possibility. The charges filed by DCPS chief Christopher Abrahano against them are non-bailable!
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SEE AND HEAR NO EVIL IN PANTAL. The illegal drug situation in Barangay Pantal in Dagupan takes the cake.
As our informant tells me, there is a daily “open house” tiangge (from midnight till 4 a.m.) just a stone’s throw, literally, from the barangay hall on Pantal Street!
What does that tell residents of Pantal about their barangay officials? Where is Kapitana Julie Perez in all these? Did she reach a modus vivendi with the drug syndicate: “Sell the drugs at night when I’m not in the barangay hall so I see nothing, hear nothing…and will do nothing!” Fine.
Then you wonder, who’s the kagawad in charge of the brave tanods? He goes on leave every day from midnight till 4 a.m.?
And because Kap Perez refuses to see the drug dealing in her street, she, too, cannot acknowledge the increasing incidence of robbery and theft in the neighborhood perpetrated by known addicts (na may mahigpit na pangangailangan)!
And as she goes through the motion of passivity and innocence about the thriving drug industry in her barangay, she flaunts her closeness to Mayor Belen. Hmmm.
What a dog life for her constituents!
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NEW UGLY SCENES. The NAIA 1 and 2 used to be scenes of many tearful, emotional separation between departing Pangasinan OFWs and their families. Conversely, NAIA 1 and 2 to many OFWs, also represents the door to many joyful reunions. But all that is gone. Most everyone now view the two airports differently.
Sure, they have resigned themselves to “gifting” customs and immigrations people in return for a seamless processing that will enable them to be reunited quickly with their eager family members waiting for them. The “gifts” could be a carton of cigarettes or a pack of chocolate bars. They accepted that as part of the “system” which is why nobody complains about the system anymore albeit grudgingly.
Today, NAIA 1 and 2 are viewed like two-headed hydra-monsters that OFWs have to avoid but cannot. They have to confront their fears before they could board their planes or run to their families on their return to Manila.
Truly ugly scenes at the airports today.
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OFW’s INTEGRITY. The two extortion rackets at NAIA 1 and 2: tanim-bala scheme aimed at departing passengers and tax the balikbayan scheme that targets the modern day heroes are the longest running rackets in the country!
The tanim-bala extortion racket was seen to be foolproof because the racketeers accurately figured that travelers would cough up any “reasonable” amount to avoid missing their flights. What the racketeers at the NAIA 1 failed to factor in is the profile of the hard-working honest OFW who will refuse to be accused of violating the law that would besmirch their integrity. This was the case of Gloria Oritnez whose case caught national attention.
An incensed Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano was right in demanding for the immediate probe and arrest of the airport employees behind the scheme by the airport officials. The airport officials have long been tolerant of extortion activities in the airport.
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SERVICE TO OFWs. Since the provincial government has a database of its OFWs, it could serve the cause of the OFWs if PESO (provincial public employment service office), can determine how many were victimized by the tanim-bala racket.
At the same time, PESO should arm all departing OFWs with telephone hotlines to the provincial government for immediate assistance in the event one falls victim to the extortionists at the NAIA1 and 2.
Indeed, how else can a government honor its modern day heroes but to make sure they are assisted when harassed, support their families while they are overseas and taught new livelihood and ways to invest when they return for good.
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NO MORE COMPROMISES. Now that the ordinance amending the fisheries code of Dagupan City has been passed, the Fernandez administration will no longer have to resort to compromises when attempting to enforce the ban.
Apparently, the city government wanted to avoid legal suits arising from the enforcement of the ban which was not ironclad in supporting the authority of the city government. Consequently, compromises that required mutual understanding and agreement on extended deadlines became the norm.
With the amended ordinance in place, the only thing that remains to strictly enforce is the correct payment of fees to the government.
Why it took so long for the city councilors to adopt it was beyond me. I heard nasty stories from many sources about “failed negotiations” that didn’t augur well for the touted integrity of some of the councilors.
Shades of transactional governance?
(For your comments and reactions, please email to: punch.sunday@gmail.com)
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