The Philippines is a beautiful country only if you are 10 levels higher than people who are at the rock bottom of the social hierarchy. If I were Gretchen Weiners from Mean Girls, I’d say “(if you’re poor) you can’t sit with us."
As much as I’d like to point out a lot of things in this country that I find vividly crooked, for this space, I want to focus on the justice system first.
You may have heard about the story of 17-year-old Kian Delos Santos who was found dead after being brutally killed during an anti-drug and anti-crime operation at Block 7, Riverside, in Barangay 160 of Caloocan.
Initial reports say that the allegations given to Delos Santos might just be true. According to a statement by Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa, Delos Santos is a drug courier for his family, and he receives 10 grams of shabu every day.
Alarming as it seems, this is where the story should not focus first. Typically, if a minor like Kian Delos Santos is reported to be involved with a violation such as this, the first thing the policemen should do is investigate the suspect and bring him to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) where the minor can get counseling and whatnot.
Policemen who were on duty the night when Delos Santos was found dead focused on eradicating the people involved with illegal drugs and not the multiplication of drugs, which for me are two different things. Killing the drug dealer would not kill the business of drug trading, and while there are a lot of solutions to this monkey business, the cops opted to kill crime with crime.
To set things straight, if we killed fire with fire, and stop floods with water, the remedy to our nation’s ill progress may just be out of our reach until we learn how to get the process right.
If we put it in a context where Kian Delos Santos is a son of a wealthy mayor, or a rich businessman who can pay in exchange of his life, how sure are we that given this circumstance, Kian would still be found covered in blood?
Is it not pleasing to witness our policemen purge as they believe that it is a part of their unwritten privileges.
As the killing continues, I have grown to believe that we live in a country where justice is only served for people who can pay for it. Today, I can only assume that justice becomes a trade of wealth and safety.
As the constitution goes 49 pages thick, we are slapped by our very own law enforcers. Papers can’t protect any of us. Paper money does.
I can only hope for a better Philippines, as honest and unbiased government officials, and copsgrow into clusters of modern-day heroes.