Guns for Hire in the Philippines on the cheap

The slow grind of Justice in the Philippines creates a bigger problem no one seems to notice; people tend to settle their difference outside of the court house. Settling of grievances outside of the court system perceived as very corrupt where judgment tilts to the highest bidder gives them instant revenge while saving them enormous amount of money.

In a society where people are in extreme poverty it is a matter of survival for the desperate people running out of choice. Criminals will not have a hard time rationalizing their despicable murderous acts when you cannot distinguish the difference between a criminal and people in high places. The impunity of criminals lording over the nation shamelessly flouting their power over the rule of law in turning the table on those who wants to make a difference as aptly described by Raul Pangalangan in his column:

It has been fashionable lately to make of nationalism the last refuge of scoundrels, and to use our sovereignty to lend a protective mantle for local depredation. Make no mistake about it. The thieves who run this government are nothing but feudal warlords in modern garb. They speak only the language of power. Let us talk to them in the only language they understand.

Al Jazeera's Marga Ortigas interviews a hit man getting paid a measly US$100.00 for contract killing, a sign that the nation has now reached the lowest of the low in a nation run by criminals you expect the subjects to have the same criminal inclinations to murder people for survival. This is beyond outrageous to think that one can end up six feet under for US$100.00 is a terrifying prospect. In a society where people disappear or summarily executed through state sanctioned violence, our silence only erodes respect for the sanctity of life even further.

The fact that a foreign media was able to get direct access to gun for hire cold blooded killer is truly alarming perhaps a sign that these are not isolated incidents but one phenomenon gaining ground in a broken justice system. How organized are these groups should be investigated and the culprits behind these indescribable crime locked away for good. But then again, if you have corrupt and inept people rising above their positions not through merits but through patronage how will they address or even bother to find a solution is like asking the fox to guard the hen house.

Perhaps this is an indication of how extensive the problem is when you read this kind of news in Pangasinan, or this one on 7 guns-for-hire tagged in slay of PDEA agent, son or when Dante Jimenez commissioner of PAOCC (Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission) and VACC (Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption) is quoted by Inq7:

“Guns-for-hire [groups] have the complete ingredients of an organized crime. It is composed of two or more participants. There are connections with various influential pillars of society and money is involved,” he said.

He said there are some villages in the country where one could get assassins for P5,000 to P10,000 (US$100 to 200). He said this problem would surface as the 2010 elections draw near.

Crime syndicates, particularly those engaged in the illegal drugs trade, are using minors as couriers, he also said.

These syndicates take advantage of the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act (Republic Act 9344), which exempts children, 15 years old and below, from criminal liabilities, he said.

Alarming indeed and with a government that has the propensity of taking a short cut in a knee jerk fashion will they rescind the law or revised the law to impose a heavier sentence for those behind the crimes and corrupting minors? How about addressing the root cause of the problem why we have a broken republic that one Garcified president insists on deluding herself and the people that we are on the road to becoming a strong republic?

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Philippine Politics Philippine Poverty Human Rights Social Issues Filipinos Filipino-Americans