The tragedy that befell 17-year-old Kian Loyd Delos Santos allegedly in the hands of Philippine police officers is truly an outrage. No kid deserves to die that way. And so it is, like in any society that aspires to be a truly just and modern one, imperative that justice be sought for the wrongful death of Delos Santos.
The important question therefore is this: How exactly will this justice be effected in this instance? Via the criminal justice system? What’s the alternative? A street rally again? Unfortunately, within hours of his death breaking news, Delos Santos has become the most recent of a string of victims turned into political artefacts by a desperate and rudderless Opposition.
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Indeed, Delos Santos is but the latest such artefact cast in the mold of the original artefact that started a long tradition of necropolitics in the Philippines, none other than Benigno ‘Ninoy’ Aquino Jr. Yet the murder of Aquino himself back in 1983 remains unsolved. So one just has to ask: How can justice for Delos Santos be delivered when Ninoy’s own son, a former Philippine president himself, could not see to it that his own father’s murder is solved while he was in power?
For that matter, Filipinos don’t really need to go too far beyond their own day-to-day existence to reflect on the inherent hypocrisy in some of the outrage fads their “activists” launch into. How, for example, can a people issue calls for “justice” whenever the latest outrage circus is in town when easy-to-solve everyday injustices cannot even be rectified? Manila’s horrendous traffic, for example has unjustly sentenced millions of Filipinos to prison time within their own cars befitting murderers. But is there justice in the way buses and jeepneys routinely clog half the width of Manila’s roads loading and unloading passengers illegally with impunity?
Therein the answer to those questions lies the answer to why nothing changes where it matters. Because many things Filipinos consider unimportant actually matter a lot. It starts with small things. The easy solutions cannot even be implemented. The smallest injustices cannot even be resolved. How then could Filipinos hope to solve the truly big problems?
It is, indeed, the height of hypocrisy for a people who can’t follow even simple traffic rules to call for “justice for Delos Santos”.
Those street kids you drive by everyday? How come nobody is outraged about them? And yet here we are screaming #JusticeForKian.
And take that manhole on the street that has remained uncovered for weeks. Someone could be seriously injured or even be killed by such banal hazards that are easily corrected. Filipinos’ low regard for public safety attests to a disturbingly low regard for human life. Yet they now scream #JusticeForKian like human life suddenly turned to gold.
The fact is, the scale of banal injustice in the Philippines that fails to launch outrage fads dwarfs those alleged “extrajudicial killings” idiots shriek about today. There is, to cite another example, “senator” Antonio Trillanes who, over the 2000s led and was involved in several armed rebellions. Here is a man who endangered thousands of Filipino lives. He was elected a Senator nonetheless. #JusticeForKian? Seriously?
You can’t take seriously a people who can’t even solve small everyday acts of impunity when they cry #JusticeForKian. There are many Filipinos — unsung victims of injustice — who don’t get the same sort of Outrage Fad treatment #JusticeForKian gets because of political agendas. You want #JusticeForKian? Don’t turn him into just another political artefact. Learn that real justice can only be achieved on the back of consistency.
benign0 is the Webmaster of GetRealPhilippines.com.
I don’t understand why begrudge those with political agenda to use the death of Kian for their selfish motive. As for me it is still better that someone will show outrage REGARDLESS of motive rather than be silent. The only question that matters is should we show outrage over this incident or should Pnoy show outrage when he could not even solve the murder of his own father. I still prefer Pnoy or other hypocrites show outrage than be silent just because they have selfish motives.
Abella is right.
here read:
‘Abella also said while people worry about the deaths of drug suspects, they do not consider the killing of the innocent by criminals on drugs.’
“Justice for Kian” is another idiotic political agenda , used by the Aquino Cojuangco political axis, Trillanes and Leni Robredo, the Liberal Party and any opposition of any shade.
The victims of the : Hacienda Luisista massacre; the Mendiola massacre; the Mamapasano masscre; the Maguindanao massacre; and all other massacres, done during the Aquino era, are still Crying for Justice…
Their voices are silenced by the killing for one person…the massacres, I have cited are many people murdered, and are forgotten.
So, we cry: “Justice for all Massacre Victims” , murdered under the Aquino Era !
he deserves to die because he’s a drug addict and a yellow tard. soon his family will join him. Good job duterte and police. cleanse this country of yellowtards
It’s a tragedy if this was a case of police abuse, however it was mentioned that there was cctv footage of the crime. I wish I can find it somehow.
Clearly this isn’t the first time there’s such this case of police abuse, brutality and deceit and cover up!
(For one there’s John dela Riarte, 27, who then figured in a traffic accident before, was also a victim by some arresting members of the police Highway Patrol Group (HPG) who reportedly handcuffed him and led him to their vehicle but then later lay dead from four gunshots to the neck, chest and waist. He had no criminal record and was not a drug user. He was on first day on the job but turned out to be his last day courtesy of the criminal police.)
The baranggay’s recorded video of the incident as well as witness accounts, clear as day, belie the criminals’ (the police in this case) shallow excuse and hideous claim of the usual “nanlaban”. Humahamon na sa katotohanan at pati pa sa katinuan! Nakakapagod na at nakakasawa!
Kian’s father was asking why was the gun placed in his left hand when he’s supposedly right-handed and why would he wore a loose-gartered boxer shorts that day if he intended to carry that heavy gun. He’s only 17!
If the authorities will not do something, still, somebody has to! Sorry is not enough for the so called “collateral damage” of this war on drugs. Victims should be compensated and the perpetrators of abuse, if found guilty, must be prosecuted (the criminal police).
The pretentious and opportunistic VACC has also lost its cause. People behind it are benefiting from their association with the administration and milking the government as usual. They are the same people who collaborated with then prosecution panel (with past administration for obvious reasons) in the historical Corona Impeachment Trial. They are instrumental bearers of fake evidence working with then private prosecutor Vitallano Aguirre, now Secretary of Justice. They had nearly succeeded in convincing the aging Mauro Vizconde to stand as witness against CJ Corona eventhough he clearly knew nothing.
And the only time President Duterte got embarrased, reacted, re-think about his campaign was when a Korean national got murdered by the criminal police inside Camp Crame. But so far still nothing happens.
It appears some Dutertards want to be just like the Yellowtards they hate! Idiotically embracing and following the Culture of Impunity in the past! No one wants to learn to separate the wrong from the right. It’s either Yellow all the way or Balasubas all the way! The thinking in the society still has not change!
it’s just a boy, move along!
If they assume the ‘truth’ to be negotiable based on whether or not it serves their agenda, then their agenda has become their ‘truth.’ And the ‘truth’ of the matter is, when they do this they’ve chosen to take a treacherous path through some very deep woods where neither path nor woods exist.
@brukokoy There’s no solid evidence to say that. Yes, it’s possible that he could have been involved in drugs, but have you also considered the possibility that evidence was planted by the cops at the scene?
@gebot That clearly wasn’t the point of the article. “It’s just a boy”, but that doesn’t make this issue any less important because these are valid concerns regarding the safety of the public. Each individual case like this is important and is worth discussing. The surprising thing is that this became a fad while tons of other similar issues didn’t.
The Philippine Police have become a special kind of terrorist sanctioned by the state. Their shiny badge gives them a license to officially terrorize everyone in the name of the law.
The Philippine President is so artfully cunning (“If your life is in danger, shoot them!”). And the police are so gifted themselves being innovative and inventive as they can be- to protect and serve the Life-Outta of Everyone as mandated.
Tanim-bala supplanted by tanim-droga at may baril pa! Very clever and innovative talaga!
The only reason why people and MSM are crazy about that boy right now is that the case serves as an ammo in the rhetoric against the present administration by the power-grabbing opportunists in the opposite side of the fence. You think these morons suddenly gave that MUCH premium to the average Pinoy pedestrian’s life after so many (who died more horrifically and were simply reduced as an ‘oh well better them not me’ statistic) who came before that kid? Gimme a break. If anything, these vultures were practically celebrating that event for having something that they could throw at the current drug war.
Let’s consider one scenario, both for the cops and the suspect killed: the cop is found guilty for use of excessive force (either from error of judgment or some other fault). The cop will then be jailed and legal justice supposedly served. What happens to the morale of other police doing anti-drug operations? At best, they’ll be more cautious. At worst, they’ll be dangerously reluctant when engaging suspects and criminals. Which is the more probable? What is clear and definite is that we have to decide. Not all “morally correct” decisions lead to moral outcomes. And those positioning themselves as morally correct can be equally held accountable for the result of their actions or inactions.
May I ask what exactly is that “clear and definite” that we do have to decide on?
To be cautious is not a bad idea! But…if one may ask, why is the PH Government too cautious also to prosecute the people (some Chinese nationals included) behind those several big Shabu Labs busted by the police operatives? They have been some time already, don’t you think? Still, we can add to that the President’s now updated “Narco Lists”! But ’till now we’re still in the dark. We can only guess, maybe they’re just being cautious and exercising due process as a matter of practice?! 😉
And while several interest groups are at it for their own selfish agenda, taking advantage of and exploiting what happened to the 17 year old dead victim (and even those of other unfortunate victims like him) due to the deadly salivatingly mad police overkill, people are inclined to think and wonder, why are these rabid policemen so angry enough to kill Kian over the two sachets of shabu allegedly/supposedly found with him (which they themselves, in the first place, planted on the poor guy and btw, they are peanuts) compared to the Custom’s very huge 6.5 Billion Shabu Scandal as of late which only merited a very mild Un-Duterte reception from the President.
Equal Justice?! Not OK! Tsk…Tsk…Tsk!
2015 reaction to drug killings: *crickets* or “Shit happens”, while sipping expensive coffee
2017 reaction to drug killings: “OMG END EJKS! FUKK YOU DUTAE! DUMB 16 MILLION!”
Why all the brouhaha about Kian, when there have been so many others murdered lately. Including a pregnant 16-year-old girl.