Place your answer in the drop box….
Based on an order from the DILG, the use of drop boxes in barangays will now be implemented in barangays, where the names of those suspected involved in illegal drugs or any other criminal activity can be dropped. The boxes will then be opened daily in the presence of several officials, and if any names appear, they will properly investigated or vetted before any legal action is taken against them. The names of abusive officers or policemen or those involved in illegal or criminal activities can also be placed in the box, and they will also be dealt with accordingly. At least this is what they say.
What if these names are just whispered into the ears of those operating outside the law, in the darkness of night, carrying their strings, signs and packaging tape, and just pronounce a death sentence on those persons? Or killed in so-called legitimate police operations? What guarantee does the innocent public have that these boxes will not be abused? What is the guarantee that should your name appear, a proper investigation will be done before any charges are filed? What is the guarantee that there won't be more Kian delos Santos cases in the country? "Just place your answer in the drop boxes and you could win?" How different is this system from the "makapili" informer system of World War II? Have drop boxes replaced by those who have bags over their heads, pointing at the supposed enemies of the state. This is "big brother" going on overdrive.
What if the name was dropped because of the most mundane of reasons, dropped by an envious neighbor, or by someone with a small dispute such as parking, garbage disposal, or pet droppings, but falsely accused of drugs and whatever criminal activity? Is it enough to warrant an investigation by authorities? Isn't it the job of the police to investigate criminal activities with good, old-fashioned detective work? It seems that the bulk of that job is being passed on to the citizenry, after which they can just dispense justice according to the standards and norms of this administration.
People are now more likely to be at risk, at a time when many Filipinos are afraid of becoming victims of the bloody campaign against illegal drugs. Now, the government has just made it easier to put your name on the dreaded "drug list", with you being helpless to stop it. Just how are the streets safer, as claimed by the likes of Gen. Dela Rosa, if your name can be placed in a virtual hit list, just by rubbing someone the wrong way? The courts should make a ruling on this new order from the government. I would say that some rights may be violated, but the mere mention of the word if already anathema to this administration.
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