Lifting the veil

The revelations coming out of the hearings in Congress, both the House and the Senate, are nothing short of shocking. Of course, the revelations and accusations must be supported by evidence and proof, but coming from “insiders” – those who were actually involved in those “operations” and “plans,” I for one find them credible.

Police given “quotas” for killings of drug users/pushers and rewards for such killings – that’s beyond the bounds of a civilized society that claims to be a democracy, guided by the rule of law.

It’s kwentong kanto – street corner gossip – but we heard rumors that some of the tambays were told “umalis na kayo” (go away) or they would be hunted down by cops and killed as suspected pushers/users, whether or not they were really pushers/users, so the cops could complete their report.

Yes, we want our neighborhoods free of drug users and pushers and shabu labs and the like, but instilling fear through random executions is not the way to go about it.

I hope these investigations will really lift the veil on the feared, dreaded “war on drugs” that had fueled the sense of impunity and vigilantism, and rid our society of that scourge.

– Caloy M. Perez, Navotas