Czar lang

WHY are the supposed anti-illegal drugs advocates so afraid of what the Veep could accomplish as the newly appointed co-chair of this administration’s war on drugs?

I honestly ask this question to myself. Since President Rodrigo Duterte appointed Vice President Ma. Leonor Robredo to share the helm of the campaign against illegal drugs, all of the former’s minions and trolls have nothing but sarcastic and downright insulting comments directed at the latter.

On Sunday, National Police officer-in-charge Lt. Gen. Archie Gamboa added to the long list of “mansplainers” of the Palace.

ABS-CBN News quoted Gamboa as saying that Robredo “should focus on improving the advocacy and rehabilitation clusters of her committee, and leave the campaign’s law enforcement side to relevant agencies such as the PNP and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.”

Has he read Robredo’s appointment papers? Does he know his place in the chain of command as far as the war on drugs is concerned? Being the co-chair of the entire campaign means that Robredo is right there beside the President at the very top rung of the ladder. If her appointment is to be graphed, her name would have a broken line right beside the President. In that graph, Gamboa is nowhere even near the top. He is an enforcer and should know his place.

Gamboa, sir, please leave the thinking and policy-making to people who are mandated to do just that. It’s not like you have done a bang-up job in enforcing the law.

Last week, the head of the anti-narcotics agency said Robredo may have been “misinformed” when she said China is the top source of narcotics in the Philippines. The guy seemed to forget that he said the very same thing last year. He said China is the top source of shabu circulating in the country.

Of course, we also have to mention senator cum presidential nanny Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, who went so far as suggesting that Robredo does not have the heart to kill drug lords. He said Robredo could just whisper the names of the drug lords to him so he can do the killing. That is so rich coming from a man who has done absolutely nothing in abating the still burgeoning illegal drug trade in the country.

Also, is the nanny admitting that the killings have been state-sponsored all these years? He has said these things like he has done it before. Could he please name the names of drug lords that this administration has ordered to be liquidated? The International Crimes Court could surely use that piece of information.

He said the President’s war on drugs is successful, pointing to the 82 percent approval rating of the people as shown in the September 2019 survey of the Social Weather Station.

Approval ratings are propaganda tools and should not be equated as actual performance ratings. The presidential nanny would do well to note that in that very same survey, 95 percent of the respondents felt that it was more “important” for the drug suspects to be caught and not killed.

 I will not mention that closet queen in Batasan Hills. His-her-its inane asides against Robredo does not warrant a response of any kind.

It has been three years since this bloody campaign started and where has it gotten us? So, why not give Robredo a chance. Like what the P10-million network of trolls of this administration always says on social media platforms, “tumulong na lang kayo.” Czar ninyong tanan uip! Pfft

Law and order

“Old Billy was right: Let’s kill all the lawyers – kill ’em tonight.” – Don Henley, Get over it

ABOUT a fortnight ago, my ex-girlfriend and I decided to eat out. We were waiting for our food to be served when we overheard a boisterous conversation from a neighboring cubicle. We couldn’t see who they were but based on the blue with white pinstripe pant leg, their blue polo shirts,  and of course, their holstered guns, we could safely assume they were cops — and loud people.

“Mao naang problema sa mga abogado. Mahukasan ka gyud. Dapat, naa ka na’y storyline daan before saoperations,” blurted one.

Another advised the other not to panic when the defense lawyer starts interrogating him and more importantly, to just stick to the storyline they made up about the operations. That cop explained that the storyline will be their rallying point in their narrative whatever happens in the conduct of operations.

I was surprised by their loud volume. They were discussing how they would comport themselves in court. They were loud, I mean, really loud. Other people eating were looking at them. Although I was surprised how loud these cops were, what they were talking about didn’t surprise me at all.

There are cops who often rant against lawyers who get their clients acquitted on “mere technicalities.” But that guy is clearly guilty, the policeman would say in frustration.

A law professor once told his class that one of the biggest mistakes the police commit during arrests is on the Miranda rights. The Miranda rights stem from the landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court in Miranda v. Arizona. It is a lump of rights, plus the right to counsel and sans the “freeze.” It is like a Jenga pile. When you remove one, the whole pile starts to crumble.

It usually goes like this: “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to have an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed to you by the court. With these rights in mind, are you still willing to talk with me about the charges against you?”

The Philippine National Police has even launched a campaign on this a year ago. It was dubbed “Know your rights.” It is a smartphone app that translates the Miranda doctrine into the different languages and dialects.

A case in point of stark relief is the Oplan Tokhang. A list of alleged drug users of a barangay by village officials, church leaders, and what have you. The police would then visit these people in their residences or they are usually rounded up to the barangay covered court. They are then made to sign a confession of sorts or a promissory note that they will not take drugs again.

Having stated the Miranda doctrine, I leave it up to you to point out how many times a regular Oplan Tokhang violates it. For one, the promissory note will not stand in court because the person signed it without a legal counsel present.

If our police only adhere to the enforcement of the law, our crime rate, including murder and extrajudicial killings, would go down instantly. I’m talking about lawful police work. No shortcuts. No “storylines” or scripts. Many cases would not be thrown off the court if the police properly enforce the law.

Another case in point is the Oplan Tambay. Remember, how many cases were dismissed and how many reached the court? As law enforcers, it is their duty to enforce it, nothing more. You may not interpret it, be creative with it, or be maverick about it. That is for the court of law to decide.

To wrap up, I should explain the quote at the start of this column. It is from an Eagles’ song. It is about Henley’s frustration and contempt for people who blame their failures, mental breakdowns, and financial problems on others, who they feel do not deserve their success and then believing that the world owes them a favor.

The line is derived from William Shakespeare’s (thus, “Billy”) Henry VI, Part 2, Act IV, Scene 2. The full quote is “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.” This line has since been the Florida Bar Association go-to lawyer joke.

Police are law enforcers. They shouldn’t hold a veiled disdain against officers of the court — lawyers. Instead, they should work together in stamping out criminality. Police should make it harder for defense lawyers to punch holes in their prosecution. Remember the old motto: Serve and protect?