“Slander is worse than cannibalism.” –John Chrysostom
Now that they have been elected and reelected, the so-called “narco-barangay officials” in the Philippines should be spared from further insult and humiliation from authorities, especially Police Regional Office-6 (PRO-6) and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).
Having secured a fresh mandate means they have the full trust and confidence from their constituents – the shame season is over.
PDEA and other law enforcement agencies should leave them alone and give them space as they perform their duties and obligations.
Authorities may continue to monitor the activities of barangay officials they suspect of engaging in illegal drugs directly (trafficking) or indirectly (a protection racket), but they cannot stop or interrupt them from enforcing their jobs as barangay captains and kagawads.
These officials can fight back as honorable public officials, especially if their accusers are unable to offer corpus delicti, or concrete evidence, beyond slanderous allegations.
The PDEA’s golden moments occurred months and years before the May 14 elections – those moment shave since melted away like an iceberg; walang forever.
The atmosphere before and after the elections is totally different.
If PDEA and other law enforcement agencies did not want these “narco-barangay officials” elected and reelected, they should have doggedly pursued cases and/or file charges to disqualify them – post-election, it’s water under the bridge.
As duly elected officials, these community officials are “persons in authority” and cannot be easily harassed by civilians or police authority.
These “narco-barangay officials” may be devils to law enforcement but, for their constituents, they are heroes and role models, who now possess awesome power and authority.
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A person from Iloilo is “Ilonggo,” and the language they speak is “Hiligaynon.” This causes some confusion, particularly in Metro Manila, resulting in the misuse of words for the dialect (Hiligaynon) and the cultural background (Ilonggo).
Even the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET) was confused after they nearly included ballot boxes from Iloilo City during the ongoing vice president recount between Vice President Maria Leonor ‘Leni’ Robredo and former Senator Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.
The electoral protest called for ballot boxed from the province of Iloilo, as it was selected as one of three pilot areas, which does not include Iloilo City. The Robredo camp insisted the city is “separate and independent from the province of Iloilo.”
Treating emotional pain
Think of pain as two sides of the same coin.
Nathan DeWall, Ph.D., who conducted a study on treating emotional pain, said, “MRI scans reveal that the brain regions that light up when you stub your toe are the same ones activated when you feel socially rejected.”
No health risk
Full-body scans at the airport pose no health risks. According to the American College of Radiology, it would take 100 scans, over the course of a year, to receive a “negligible individual dose.” In fact, we’re exposed to more naturally-occurring radiation when flying cross-country, thanks to our proximity to outer space./WDJ