Who the real enemy is

I find it eerie that a few days ago, BIO or History channel featured the life of Frank Serpico, one of the most controversial officers of the New York City Police Department. Serpico is credited for helping bring down corrupt policemen as well as drug lords and drug dealers.

For his dedication, Serpico earned the contempt of fellow police officers, found himself shot in the face during a drug bust while his back up and fellow policemen watched and waited for him to bleed to death. All this eventually became a movie starred by Al Pacino and has become one of the best police movies in history.

A few days after watching the bio-documentary, we now hear of how a 13 -year old daughter of an agent of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) was kidnapped and raped as an act of retaliation and intimidation towards PDEA agents.

As expected we are all angry at the brutality and wickedness shown by the people who ordered the kidnap and rape of the PDEA agent’s daughter. No one can believe that these criminals would stoop so low as to destroy the life of this innocent girl who had no involvement in PDEA matters.

Sorry, but this is the kind of enemy we ALL have, men who no longer make distinctions between the innocent or mere children.

Drug dealers do not make political or moral distinctions. They do not differentiate between rich or poor, married or single, good or bad. They take greater risks in their line of business such as being cheated, being arrested, jailed or killed on a daily basis. The scales of Justice do not apply to them. They only think in terms of kilos, grams or ounces. It is all about profit and survival.

They will buy or bribe their way out of a jam and when it comes to dealing with their enemies, they kill or maim people with the same viciousness they have in destroying people’s lives by making them drug addicts.

The sooner we realize this individually and as a nation, the sooner we will be better able to appreciate that fighting drug dealers is equal if not worse than fighting terrorists. Terrorists are cold blooded, purpose driven and target selective. They employ violence and carnage to make political or false religious statements. We “see” them because they want to be seen.

Drug dealers don’t show themselves, the damage they do is not “visible”, their victims are hidden and millions of families deny being directly or indirectly victimized. No one retaliates and very few fight back. We simply deal with the victim by covering up their “medical condition” or our embarrassment or helplessness in dealing with the curse that has visited our homes.

Yes we fight back, but we pick a fight with the police and not the real enemy.

We despise law enforcers who arrest “our innocent children”; we accuse or suspect law enforcers of harassing or falsely arresting our relatives. We hire the best lawyers, PR consultants, padrinos and connections in our focused effort to fight the police but we don’t fight the criminals that turned our “innocent children” to desperate drug dependents and users.

It is a national tragedy that we live with, and do nothing about the “common knowledge” about bars and venues where drugs are sold. Property developers discourage police presence while business owners refuse entrance or monitoring.

We cover up “open parties” or concerts where drugs are sold because it may affect our precious sons and daughters. We titillate the public about suspected celebrities and politicians such as the list of the “Dirty Dozen” Mayors suspected of being drug dealers even before we nab them.

We share information about areas in our barangays and exclusive villages where drugs are sold. We talk about the barangay captain, the police official who are or were involved in major drug deals. In short we all know something big or small about the prevalence of drugs and drug use in the country. But when police start showing us the facts and the figures, the politicians deny this and label it as exaggerated!

The “socially correct” activists have removed one important weapon against the sinister and the evil — the death penalty. Now they are working on the process of how our law enforcers conduct themselves in the fight against criminals. But what motivates them to do so? Has it always been about law and order?

Or has it all been about their “victim” mentality or past trauma when they were involved in anti-government activity and destabilization? Our advocacies are always personal. But should our personal traumas be the cause for castrating law enforcement in their battle against the real enemies of society?

The death penalty is not just about right or wrong, fair or unjust, rich or poor. It is the equal measure and penalty that God himself has given to leaders and government in order to deal with evil. Evil that defies God, evil that debases mankind, evil that inflicts unimaginable horror and ruin to innocent children, helpless people or society in general. It is the final judgment upon evil that cannot be redeemed.

We all have our views, our opinions and our concerns and it is good to consider and respect each of them. But the evil that now confronts us is the evil that destroys our children. How can we hide in silence? How can we defend the indefensible? How much longer will we fight amongst ourselves and not the enemy? If your children have been victimized, shouldn’t you get personal?

If you can’t be part of the fight, please get out of your comfort zone and refuge and give your support to the PDEA and to the police. Know who the real enemy is.