“There is no overacting, only untrue acting.” –Stellan Skarsgård
Many believe Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) director, Police Senior Superintendent Remus Zacharias Canieso, “overreacted” when he summoned the manager and service crew of a local hardware store on April 7 after he was accidentally hit by a pushcart while inside the said establishment.
Canieso reportedly lectured the store personnel on being cautious as similar actions pose danger, not just to adults, but to children.
Considering he did not suffer any major injuries, the ICPO chief could have spoken with the manager and the crew in the store when it happened; or he could have smiled and forgotten about it, since it occurs every now and then at shopping centers – and any crowded place.
If this happened to an ordinary citizen, the incident would have been shrugged off and forgotten. But, because he is the city police chief, Canieso used his power and authority to inconvenience the store employees – he was sending a curt message.
Meanwhile, he was previously scheduled to be transferred to Aklan, if the Iloilo City Council had not urged Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa to retain him in his post.
Inside the ICPO, Canieso, who was supposed to be transferred to Aklan if the Iloilo City Council did not ask PNP Chief Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa to retain him in his present post,
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Ever wonder why, until now, the news in the Philippines is still dominated by alleged extrajudicial killings amidst the brutal campaign initiated by the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte against illegal narcotics?
Even if there were killings every day, shabu dealers will not completely close shop. By hook or crook, they will “push” their illegal substance – they can’t just throw it all into the dustbin or flush it down the toilet.
If they are unable to remit the money, their suppliers will kill them – they are caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. They have no choice but to engage in a cat-and-mouse with law enforcement game and risk their lives, otherwise, they lose their livelihood.
Many street-level dealers are unemployed and peddling illegal drugs is their only way out of poverty. They are aware many of them are being executed like animals, but they remain unfazed – they fear poverty more than the bullets of police officers.
In the shabu business, everybody is involved, including housewives, husbands, their children, and some barangay officials.
While their lives have long been destroyed by drugs before being mowed down by bullets, the problem of illegal drugs cannot be halted, even if dead bodies continue to stockpile at dumpsites and public plazas./WDJ