They told us that they are fighting a War Against Drugs, but thousands of people have died, yet no major drug lord or syndicate has been exposed, investigated and prosecuted. On the contrary, many self-confessed ones have been given a free pass in exchange for falsely testifying against the President’s most vocal critic.
They told the people that I am the Drug Queen because, without me, illegal drugs would not be traded within the New Bilibid Prison (never mind that I was the one and only Secretary of Justice to personally conduct a major raid precisely to combat such illegal activities in the NBP), yet this Administration’s Secretary of Justice now admits that, despite my detention and the measures they have taken, the drug problem in the BuCor remains unabated.
When our leaders feed us lies to hide their incompetence and real agenda, our only hope as a people of ferreting out the truth lies in asking the right questions. And that is the beauty and importance of Bishop Pablo Virgilio “Ambo” David’s recently reported expression of disappointment over the government’s so-called “War on Drugs.”
He asked whether our authorities have identified even just one of the cartels here in our country.
No, they have not.
“Why is it that only the poor or ordinary people end up being the victims?”
Why, indeed?
With all these killings, “Has any of these cases been solved? Even just one?”
None. Not a single one.
If petty crimes can be detected and solved with the use of technology like CCTV cameras, Why is it that “the murders, the people who abduct and kill the helpless, these are not seen on CCTV cameras… Are they invisible?”
No, they are not. But they and the sufferings of our people are only invisible to those who are willfully blind and apathetic.
Bishop Ambo makes his point by urging us to think. “If this is a war, who is the enemy?”
Who, indeed? The answer is there if we but open our eyes to see it for what it is.
This is a man of the cloth who does not condemn the effort to eliminate a social scourge, but its hypocrisy and falseness.
I hope and pray that these questions, though they may not produce immediate answers, would at least inspire more religious, political and social leaders to speak up, and more of our people to start thinking for themselves. These unsolved summary killings are as much our problem as that of the victims and their families.
This is our nation that is decaying and dying because, not only is this Administration lying to us about the true and bloody results of their “War on Drugs”, they are poisoning us with their chosen panacea for our problems: death and violence.
Tayo-tayo rin ang nagkakamatayan. Ang karahasan na inihahasik ng Administrasyong ito ay babalik at madidirekta rin sa atin. Ilang buhay pa ba ang maibubuwis bago tayo magising? Na hindi droga ang sinisikil at dinudurog ng Administrasyong ito, kundi tayo rin?
Our search for the Truth starts with people like Bishop David, who ask searching questions and open our eyes to the sickening Truth: that we have been duped by a false and twisted promise of change.