By Ermin Garcia Jr.

 

WHILE the bleeding hearts of human rights groups are crying out over the deaths of suspected EJK among drug peddlers, millions of families can’t be thankful enough for keeping their members safe and away from the clutches of drug syndicates.

And contrary to the admission of PRRD and his own detractors, the long overdue campaign vs. illegal drugs has not failed the Filipino families. Nonetheless, it is not likely that the drug syndicates will begin to cease and desist on account of the campaign but one thing is certain, they will be more inventive in days ahead because their pockets are already hurting with each successful seizure of millions worth of shabu in the hands of their operators.

Take the latest P264-M worth of shabu (38 kilos) seized recently by a composite team of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS) of BOC Manila International Container Port (MICP), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Task Force Noah, NOLCOM, National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA), and Philippine National Police (PNP) in a buy-bust operation!

It was actually just a follow-up operation led by PDEA of an earlier buy-bust operation conducted on October 16 at Dasmarinas, Cavite that resulted in the seizure of approximately 240 kilos of shabu estimated to be worth Php1.656 billion and the arrest of two individuals.

Imagine if those supply of shabu were not intercepted and found themselves in the streets! Imagine how many families would have been victimized over a long period.

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PLEA BARGAINING FOR DRUG CRIMES. But these actions on the ground by our law enforcers are facing counter measures from our law. I refer to the option provided by the Supreme Court to arrested drug suspects – the plea bargaining agreement (PBA) offered to arrested suspects for specified gravity of crime committed.  

The recent arrest of a notorious drug pusher in Dagupan City who availed of the plea bargaining earlier to escape conviction for a long jail sentence is one of the many cases that frustrate our anti-drug operatives and law enforcers. The operatives often find out after the arrest of many of drug pushers that those they arrested have already been caught but availed of the PBA. It frustrates them that their efforts running after the drug peddlers (some are armed) appear to be coming to naught.

 In PBAs, the court endorses the arrested suspects to their barangay kapitans as guardians. Hence, if the kapitan fails to comply with the terms of the release of the suspect who availed of the PBA, he/she must be held accountable for failing to report the violation of the terms of PBA by the arrested suspect who continues with the illegal drug trade. The kapitan, more than anyone, is aware of who’s in the illegal drug trade, including users.

 This is the flaw in the law because the kapitan is very vulnerable to “offers” from drug syndicates and yet the official is not being made to account for negligence and dereliction of duty.

 The drug syndicates are laughing all the way to the bank because the plea bargaining agreement no longer have to bribe prosecutors and judges for the release of  their workforce in the streets. It is a like a parachute given a criminal so he can continue his illegal operations at no extra costs.

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IT’S ABOUT THE P25K MONTHLY TONG! It’s finally out. I’m referring to the “complicated” situation that the small fish vendors at the Magsaysay Market in Dagupan City found themselves in after decades of selling in the area, paying the required P100 cash tickets daily, only to be relocated somewhere where marketgoers can’t be found.

For weeks, I could not understand the motivation behind the sudden relocation of the members of the association while allowing others to continue to sell fish in the area.  One of the reasons cited was the directive of the DILG to remove all road obstructions. But they were not occupying the middle of a street. So that fell flat.

So I still could not understand why Mayor Brian Lim responded in a haphazard way, providing them colorful tents to cover their heads, but with one condition: The vendors can only sell from 5 a.m. to 8a.m.!! Why sucha restriction for a situation that involves livelihood? Are the vendors, who’ve been in the place for more than 2 decades suddenly getting in the way of a city ordinance, health protocol??

Apparently not. So what’s stopping the city government from allowing fish vendors to keep their livelihood?   Ah… the vendors finally blurted out the real reason behind their relocation and “heightened restrictions”.

It’s about the P25,000 monthly “tong” that the vendors stopped paying to the friends of the mayor after months  of compliance since the onset of the pandemic. The vendors obviously thought their emotional plea for “humane considerations” was enough to resolve their dilemma. They were mistaken and now they are desperate.

No wonder Mr. Lim did not want to lift a finger and get in the way of his barkada’s racket. It’s about P25,000 monthly “allowance” that the vendors must come across with if they want to continue their livelihood hassle-free.

But it seems the difficult situation that the pandemic created on the vendors is not acceptable alilbi . To the market marshals operating the racket, it’s “pay or else!”

And the apparent disinterest of the city hall on the issue has emboldened the two key henchmen on top of the racket to continuously snub the invitation of the Sangguniang Panlungsod to respond to the complaints aired by the vendors. Of course, they will refuse to appear because they have been exposed.

But as Mr. Lim is more inclined to protect the barkada’s tong racket, he has put his own mother, Councilor Celia Lim in an embarrassing dilemma. She had promised her colleagues at the city council that she would talk to her son-mayor to solve the impasse and help the vendors in their plight.

Well, two weeks passed, and Mr. Lim obviously chose to ignore her mother-councilor and decided to chill out for his barkada. Poor mother-Councilor Celia, she has to find a plausible reason to cover-up for his son-mayor’s indifference and apathy in favor of his barkada.

So what will it be for Mr. Lim, his mother-councilor, the councilors, the vendors and the racketeers?

I think mother-Councilor  Celia will still be embarrassed in the days ahead, the vendors will continue to be without livelihood, the councilors will be powerless to protect the vendors – the market marshals will be extremely happy to know they have a protective boss.

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ON BEING CONSIDERATE. There must be a limitation in making exemptions in enforcing a law in the middle of a calamity in a community 

Last week, we posted a picture of  long line of UV Express units parked on Quintos Bridge on A.B. Fernandez Avenue in Dagupan City. The vans were parked there to continue operating like a terminal while Herrero St. was flooded. Obviously, it was a consideration for the van operators that were operating out of the SM Parking lot.  

But something was wrong about that consideration. First of all, it was allowed on a bridge when there were other dry areas in the city where they coul park and operate like a terminal without obstructing traffic. Secondly, the vans were parked in a counterflow way on that one-way street to the south. The vans parked facing north.   

Some laws can, indeed, be bent to help people in distress. But a law should not be completely disregarded to discard a basic law. In this case, a bridge is not the place to operate as a terminal. Second, the whole street is designated as one way street but the vans were moving around the bridge to be able to park  in counterflow direction.  

Let’s be considerate to the extent that laws are on law and order are not exceedingly compromised.

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PUNCH NEW COLUMNIST.  I’m pleased to welcome Mr. Rex Catubig, one of Dagupan City’s most articulate and persuasive literary writer as one of our regular weekly columnists. He can be expected to bring you to his countless journeys with interesting people, food and places wherever he finds them. Enjoy reading him!

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