Sample not lip service

Self-empowerment in the form of a steel pipe is what will happen if the PNoy administration fails to take convincing action against roadside extortionists.

This is the sentiment that has begun to take shape among some drivers who were disappointed with Malacañang’s reaction concerning prevalent roadside extortion in Metro Manila not to mention all points of Luzon!

Rather than show empathy and an emphatic commitment to go after extortionists, Malacañang officials reportedly threw a wet blanket on the matter by stating that they needed to gather proof and evidence and not just go out and grab the first likely suspects.

I understand that government must always be the voice of reason and law, unfortunately when speaking to a crowd of daily and perennial victims of extortion; the last thing they need to be told is to be reasonable. When they are being bullied and extorted by law enforcers or public officials, laws are the very tools used to rob them of their daily earnings.

In street parlance “Dapat may ma-sampolan” (examples should be made of violators). Drivers are expecting to see some serious arrests take place but from the looks of it, there is now a group who won’t wait and hold their breath.

I just heard some drivers talk on the radio about plans to create their own “Pasada Patrol” where Jeepney drivers will take matters into their own hands if the cops can’t stop the extortionists and the government fails to throw corrupt local officials in jail.

The idea I presume is to identify extortionists and to conduct a “Citizens arrest”. The initial reaction to this would be positive since it is about time that drivers stood up against extortion and it would be the first time that drivers did something pro-active about the matter.

However, things could get ugly since every criminal or suspect who has ever gone through “the people” or Taong Bayan usually ends up bruised, battered and broken. The wrath of the oppressed and the righteous often comes from the five fold ministry of a clenched fists and knuckles as well as sharp metallic objects!

Some people are bound to seriously get hurt and some of them might just be the drivers themselves. I have watched roadside extortionists particularly in Mandaluyong City and I will tell you that most of them have been behind bars more than once. These sorts of thugs, will fight for their territory, are more afraid of their handlers who are either cops or high-ranking local officials in the traffic management office.

The first thing that Malacañang and those tasked to deal with roadside extortion need to do is change their attitude on the matter. Roadside extortion is not as simple as a thug demanding piso-piso from every driver that goes through. Thugs are just hairs on a large body of criminal syndicates.

Roadside extortion is an act that robs the driver not only of one or five pesos. It robs him of his manhood, his dignity and his self-respect. How would you feel if a bunch of hoods walked up to your table, your office or your house and told you that you now have to start paying 5% of your monthly income “For Protection”?

What respect would you have left for the law, the law enforcers or local officials when you know that the people who are PAID to protect you are now the people who humiliate and rob you? Is it any surprise that these drivers are also lawbreakers and king of the road? Unlike us, they pay TONG everyday, two to three times a day without going through a tollbooth or getting a receipt!

Unlike Jueteng, Kotong is not a personal choice. It is taken by intimidation, coercion, and enforced through violence. All of us, especially the churches should speak out against these thieves of the worst kind, louder than we do against Jueteng Lords!

Unlike Jueteng where some semblance of pay back or winning is created, the money made from roadside extortion runs into millions everyday. What Filipinos have not come to realize or consider is that WE are all paying for the “Kotong” or the extortion money, all of us both rich and poor!

Chief PNP Nic Bartolome has reportedly organized a covert anti-extortion group to go after the crooks. We hope that the good general will demand that his teams capture the heads or ringleaders and not the everyday ordinary tong collector, which past PNP officials habitually present to the media.

We are as they say are at the “Tipping Point”. The government can make an example of the roadside extortionists by making quality arrests, or they can live with the mess that happens if Vigilante groups such as a “Pasada Patrol” impose their own kind of “Justice”.

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Speaking of Vigilante Justice, I have long been meaning to point out that there has been an “outbreak” or an escalated number of gun-related murders or Tandem shootings in the past two to three months.

The highlight to me of these gun-related crimes would be the shooting-murder of a man shot by his ex-wife inside a mall, where a security officer was also shot and killed trying to stop the woman from committing suicide.

That case in itself makes me wonder about the state of gun control in the Philippines and the apparent desperation of women who are abandoned by their spouse. Instead of spending so much time and focus on political cases, it is about time that the Secretary of Justice gave more time on the two problems that are reaching critical levels.

Loose firearms and abandoned women or wives are equally explosive and destructive to families and our society.

When people can simply buy a gun to take care of a problem or get rid of a person, I have to say: PNoy, we have a problem.

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