By Ermin Garcia Jr.

 

IT’S time the Pangasinan chapters of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency to collaborate and petition the Supreme Court to withdraw its rule allowing arrested drug suspects to avail of a plea bargaining agreement that will allow the latter to be released to the custody of barangay  chairman pending resolution of cases filed against them.

The intention of the SC to allow arrested drug suspects to have a chance at being reformed and rehabilitated is noble but unknown to the High Court, it only served the profit motives of drug syndicates further. The drug suspects who are granted temporary liberty via plea bargaining become the logical first targets to be lured back to the drug trade because they don’t need further orientation and training as peddlers and runners.

As the drug law enforcers can attest to, many of the drug suspects they’ve busted in past 12 months were all recent detainees released by the PBA program. It means, the PBA has become a convenient source for recruitment of drug syndicates for street dealers.

Such was the case of Nichol Gumanong, 23, a resident of Sition Silungan in Bonuan Binloc in Dagupan City, who was arrested in a buy-bust operation of the Dagupan police. (Read our story in Crime Notes). He was released after availing of the PBA and was quickly back on the streets to work for the drug syndicates.

It is no longer uncommon to hear drug enforcers exclaim – “Nahuli na kita nuon!”- after a drug-bust.

The Supreme Court must be told the stories of our law enforcers.

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LET THE CURFEW STAY. The decision of the provincial IATF to keep its curfew policy albeit shortened, under Alert Level 1 is prudent.

Lifting the curfew does not offer any added benefits to the economy but simply risks possible spread of COVID infection among asymptomatic persons, since the only economic activity past midnight would be operation of bars selling liquor.

Even tourists billed in hotels that operate F&B till past midnight would have no problem with the 12 midnight curfew.

The guaranteed benefit of the shortened curfew will be a much-improved peace and order that’s for sure, since we can assume police patrols will be roving around communities nightly to ensure strict enforcement of the curfew.

I pray this 12 a.m. – 4 a.m. curfew stays the whole year!

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RESTORING COMELEC’S CREDIBILITY. Is the Operation Baklas of Comelec an optional operation in Pangasinan towns?

Comelec’s campaign in Dagupan City certainly made its impact with the removal of illegal postering activities of national candidates, but that one day operation was quickly shot down by operators of postering.

Soon enough, oversized billboards of Robin Padilla, posters of BBM-Sara UniTeam, API, etc. resurfaced in the city.

How will Comelec deal with such never ending infractions? Or will it just close its eyes to the new violations hoping the community will not mind?

It is this inability of Comelec to enforce the simple rules on postering that erodes its credibility when it invokes the Omnibus Election Code each time. It’s constant threats to penalize candidates were not, and will still likely not, be taken seriously by candidates and their supporters. Why should Comelec be believed? No Comelec official has filed charges or penalized anyone violating provisions in the Omnibus Election Code.

The only few times Comelec redeemed itself in the past were when it declared candidates disqualified for violating rules on campaign expenditures. The late Senator Raul Manglapus and Laguna Gov. Er Ejercito were disqualified for election campaign offenses in the past.

What’s not helping the image of Comelec is the passive posture that is adopted, leaving it to citizens to report violations, submit evidence and see to the completion of the process to its end. In other words, it wants citizens to take the risks of being harassed.

So, wonder no more why vote-buying in the last two decades was rampant right under the very noses of Comelec supervisors.

Will today’s set of designated Comelec supervisors in Pangasinan make a difference this time for a change? Let’s hear it from lawyer Ericson Oganiza, provincial supervisor.

And will our Comelec town and city supervisors finally man the ramparts to strictly enforce its rules, from postering to vote-buying?

In fact, will it help enforce the minimum health standard protocols during rallies, caravans, motorcades? Or is that already asking too much?

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IMPACT OF E-SABONG ON FAMILIES. While President Duterte has not ordered the immediate suspension of e-sabong operations legitimized by Pagcor’s license but without any regulation, millions of families whose harmony and security were directly affected by the e-sabong operations are praying he will do so, soon.

Pagcor seriously miscalculated the impact of e-sabong and obviously readily accepted that e-sabong is no different from the operations of e-bingo that had little impact on social costs.

What a very serious, deadly mistake.

As of today, not a few families can never get their normal lives back since a member had taken his life over huge unpaid debts. Nobody died from playing e-bingo but a number have committed suicide from playing e-sabong out of shame and fear of liquidation for failing to pay loans obtained from criminal syndicates operating the e-sabong and betting stations.

Daily revenues from e-sabong must have already likely overtaken daily profits of drug dealers. Unlike drug-dealing and use that are accompanied by security risks, betting in e-sabong can be done anywhere without any fear of being arrested for violating a law. E-sabong addicts can place their bets from anywhere and anytime – from inside their comfort rooms, lying on their beds, driving home, selling fish in the market, transporting passengers on tricycles, tending to animals or plants, before and after sex, before and after meals, etc…. name it, they can place their bets with their mobile wallet app on their inseparable smartphones.

Let’s pray, Mr. Duterte will not prioritize government revenues over security of families.

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I hope the growing popularity of forums and debates among national candidates will prompt local civic and religious groups in partnership with local media, particularly KBP Pangasinan chapter (if possible), to duplicate these efforts in our towns and cities.

Unfortunately, the series of simultaneous conduct of covenant signing for peaceful elections by and among local candidates over the past decades merely became opportunities for photo ops of candidates with little or no significance.  When neither police nor Comelec acted to make the signatories accountable for their violation of their oaths and commitment, the candidates themselves stopped giving it any importance.

Town Hall meeting (forums) and organized debates can change all that. This will set the bar for knowing more about candidates running at least for governor and mayor.

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