Posts from — March 2008
Apologies and SOS
March 6, 2008 2 Comments
In Fairness to the Policemen But…
On one instance in the encounter in Molino Road where we were stopped for almost an hour, one young police officer named Ramos was a graduate of our institution Batch ’94. He quipped as we negotiate with them in a low voice: “Pasensya na po talaga mam, wala po akong magawa kasi utos sa taas eh.” (I apologize, I am just obeying orders from superiors)
One of senior policemen in Aguinaldo Hi-way said this as we were let go of our way after more than 20 minutes: “Pakisabi pasensya na lang po kay Dean Esmilla” (Please express my apologies to Dean Esmilla). Dean Esmilla is the former dean of our College of Law Enforcement and Public Safety.
Going back to these words and most especially the faces of these policemen as they uttered words of I may say despair and hopelessness (for they cannot do anything but abide the so-called chain of command), I feel sorry for them. What has become of them? They are very far from the people that we have formed in school with Christian values.
Most of the policemen of Cavite police force are either graduates of our university or scholars thru our program for law enforcers of Cavite. Some of these people even join our faculty members in the firing range for practice shooting. What has become of them? Until now, my heart still languishes this painful fact of existence.
Unfortunately, they cannot do anything they say. Chain of command, utos sa taas, wala po tayong magagawa. They have mouths to feed, they have children to send to school and have dreams to weave for their families. They know that what they are doing is basically against the bill of rights and unconstitutional but the chain of command tells them to disregard these things or else, they will be court martialed or face administrative charges and languish in jail far from their family and far from the life of comfort.
In fairness to the policemen, they did their job well. They fulfilled the order of the people on top of them. However, it does not mean that what they did was right and good. They are not totally spared.
As we were facing these policemen and trying to negotiate, we were also telling ourselves that they are just following orders. What a shame on the occupants of Malacanang and Crame are doing and teaching their subordinates. This is the very opposite of what is being taught here in our school to our future policemen. Being a teacher has never become more frustrating and more difficult than today teaching young men and woman, in this case soon-to-be law enforcers of upholding and always fight for the sanctity of human rights and freedom of the citizens rich and poor alike. It’s as if everything that educators have labored in the classrooms for years are now in vain. Every corrective measures that teachers do whenever a student cheat, or hit a classmate, or utter fowl words in class, or being unbecoming in lectures, or being unprepared during reports, submitting plagiarized papers and being late, absent and irresponsible in class are now slowly being thrown in the trashbin by senior officials of the police force, senior officials of the military, the president and her family, cabinet members, senators and congressmen and sadly even barangay captains and kagawads. They are now indoctrinizing the people and presented the syllabus of violence, greed, dishonesty and indescency.
I pray that one day it will never dawn on us that our sons or daughters working in the government will steal from us, or abduct us, or abuse us or kill us and will reason out in somber words…wala po akong magawa ma, pa, utos sa tass. (I can’t do anything mom, dad, orders by superiors)
March 5, 2008 No Comments
Mystery Vehicle
The answer is: a couple of our faculty members saw this veyr vehicle parked at the police station of Bacoor PNP Station. It is up for you to judge.
March 5, 2008 2 Comments
The Fear
One never really knows injustice until one encounters it and has become a victim of it. General Razon last Monday was interviewed via phone in the program of Korina Sanchez and Ted Failon in DZMM regarding policemen blocking and harassing protesters from the provinces as they try to stretch their way to the Interfaith Gathering in Makati. He said that the police force did nothing wrong and just assured the safety of everybody. At one point, DLSU-D’s experience against the police force was highlighted in the interview with Failon saying how come policemen stopped and blocked students and faculty members for their reason that they were just checking for those people who may be carrying explosives and deadly weapons planning to sabotage the rally. At this, Razon expressed that why is it DLSU-D is making a great fuss out of last Friday’s incident.
I just cannot understand the logic of policemen saying that. They say, anyway we were all safe and nothing happened, no one was hurt. These were also the very words they said to the abduction/kidnapping of Jun Lozada…anyway, he is safe, he is right here, he is alive. All those who were stopped, blocked and intimidated by policemen are surely not making a fuss out of the situation in the frame of mind of Razon or the policemen. We are not taking the spotlight for the sake of fame and recognition from other people to sympathize with us or follow our cause. We are not feeling great because of the great attention that the media and human rights groups are giving us because of what happened. Our ego has not ballooned to great proportion because of the attention we are getting and the support we are hearing. We are making a great fuss out of the situation because if ordinary students and teachers could be stopped, blocked, intimidated and harassed by policemen in some hidden and far-flung area of luzon, how much more to those who speak for the truth about the morally bankrupt government and all its arrogant people?
Who wants to be in the spotlight and become a star by making ourselves baits for the brutality and arrogance of police force? Who wants to become a showbiz personality out abuse one gets from the hands of should-be protectors? One will not and never feel stardom, prestige and a ballooning ego if confronted by people who are willing to step unto your basic rights and dignity. One will only feel fear, uncertainty and the shouting of a voice within for freedom and justice. One will only feel the most basic morsel of truth in this life, that is, freedom! Our fear turned into a formidable strength.
If these people feel great after abusing and harassing people, with their ego inflating bigger than their hearts and souls, surely, what they always look after is “stardom and the spotlight”. And don’t forget the reward from the queen of black hearts. The flashing of lights is their abode, the power of gold and money their flesh and the darkness of the night is their strength. Freedom is never in their blood, only cold brutality and blind obedience.
This is the same experience of Lozada on the hands of murderers zoomed in into the experiences of each and every Filipino especially the youth crying out for freedom.
The sheer arrogance and use of force of these people to ordinary citizens, especially the youth whom they even suspect as maybe carrying deadly weapons and saboteurs is illogical and a bold showing of fear and insecurity on their part especially the occupants of the Palace. This tells us that their days are counted. Their fear has turned into brutality.
Now, the people especially the youth fully understand the case of Lozada. If the government can harass a people of its own, how much more ordinary citizens who are voicing their right for a clean, honest and responsible government?
I now, does not base that much my clamor for the resignation (if she still has delicadeza) or ouster of GMA from the scandal and bribery issues of the NBN ZTE Deal. I cry for a clean, honest and responsible government now and not later because of the fact that this government has already lost its mandate of protecting the very people that gives them power, authority and their bread and butter. The very people that gives them air to breath and flesh to live as government officials and servant of the people are the very people they now harass and suppress.
It is high time to stop this display of arrogance! And surely, the youth will answer with a thundering YES! And that is something we are making a great fuss about.
March 5, 2008 No Comments
Explosions!
These are some of the things that makes the issues against the police force a big explosion.
1. the real score behind the Tamaraw FX with plate number UDJ-927
2. a call was made at DLSU-D prior to the day of rallies
3. a person uttered this line…no matter what it takes, no matter what it cost, don’t let the people from DLSU-D and other protesters reach Makati
4. some people were beaten and arrested and “jailed” in Imus by policemen as they inch their way to Imus Cathedral for a Station of the Cross.
March 4, 2008 No Comments
A Reflection of Mr. Salibay on Last Friday’s Harassment of Policemen to DLU-D
This is a personal reflection of Mr. Steve Salibay, fellow Faculty Member under the Religious Education Department of DLSU-D after the policemen stopped and harrassed us on our way to Makati for the Interfaith Prayer Rally. Many may have never reached Makati, but because of the indicent, the spark in the hearts of the young people to fight for truth, justice and freedom has now become a wild fire!
As soon as I boarded a jeep alone from DLSU-D School Bus, can’t help myself but weep in silence. I weep for my own children, friends, students and fellow teachers. It’s so outrageous to think that our policemen, some of them were former students and scholars of our very own institution turned out to be goons of their own “children” and former teachers. Aren’t they supposed to be the protectors of our people? Aboard those two school buses were students and teachers wanting to express their sentiment for TRUTH and JUSTICE that must prevail in our land, in solidarity with hundreds of thousands of young Filipinos and teachers in Makati. But what they did to us was harassment treating us as if we were criminals.
While we were conceptualizing our plan on how to join the inter-faith rally in Makati, we were so trusting that we thought it would never happen to us because we were no terrorists. But this is it! We have witnessed how oppressive and insecure our government have become. Well, her Excellency has all the reasons to get insecure because after all she is NOT the rightful heir of the Presidency in our land.
But indeed, this experience should never stop us from doing our part as Filipinos. I still believe in the beauty and goodness of every Filipino, Filipinos who genuinely love our country and people.
March 3, 2008 No Comments
Harassment of Policemen Against DLSU-D (Part 2)
We literally took the long way to Makati last friday for the Interfaith Gathering. Though many from DLSU-D have never stepped in the business district to join in one resounding chorus the call for truth and justice in our country plagued by deceit and abuse, our small voice trapped in the hands of policemen was a blaring sound in the wilderness of Cavite that indeed, the President together with her cohorts should resign and be thrown into the pits of oblivion because of abusing their power and suppressing our basic rights as Filipino citizens. Here are some of the pictures of busloads of students, faculty students, La Salle Brother and administrators of DLUS-D stopped and harassed by policemen at three different points: Salitran Road, Molino Road and Aguinaldo Hi-way. Here are the faces of the little demons and cohorts of the evil queen of Malacanang. Surely, if we have arrived at Makati for the Interfaith gathering with ease and comfort, our school, our students and faculty members would have just been any ordinary protesters gathered in the business district praying and shouting for truth and justice. But because of the brute, sheer calousness and arrogance in no proportion of GMA and her police force, they have legitimized even more the clamour of people and most especially the youth for her to step down and end up her abusive, corrupt and morally bankrupt rule. They have put in the limelight of the Youth and Filipino consciousness what this regime can do to cling to power, to the extent of branding students and faculty members as terrorists and subersives. If you still have the the conscience…wait, she does not have the conscience surely after what she has done…RESIGN, YOU BITCH!
Our group stopped and harassed by policemen at Molino Road. Policemen took the driver’s license of our drivers and were in a fishing expedition for charges against us but failed. (click for a complete story http://animotivation.blogspot.com/2008/03/harassment-of-policemen-against-dlsu-d.html)
After almost an hour of being stopped and harassed by policemen, with none of them talking to us, not even one of them telling us what about our status, we took our case to the street and voiced our protest to the people. People and commuters immediately responded by blowing their horns while other residents took pictures and texted the media. (click for complete story http://animotivation.blogspot.com/2008/03/harassment-of-policemen-against-dlsu-d.html/)
Another group of policemen stopping us at Aguinaldo Hi-way after the previous group of law enforcers assuring us of safe passage at the main hi-way of Cavite. They stopped us for more than 20 minutes (doing a fishing expedition once again) and once again, sympathy from commuters and residents ate up the force of the policemen. They let us go, but we noticed that a Tamaraw FX vehicle was trailing ahead of us, while a motorcycle was behind our back. (click for complete story: http://animotivation.blogspot.com/2008/03/harassment-of-policemen-against-dlsu-d.html/)
Here is the heavily tinted Tamaraw FX van that has been harassing us, not letting us to go our way, blocking our right of way, swerving from left to right to block us from moving ahead. There were two people (very ugly people) inside wearing a vest with the other having a hand-held short frequency radio. This van, even followed our buses as we went back to our school, leaving only our group after we spotted a media van and reported the incident.(click for complete story: http://animotivation.blogspot.com/2008/03/harassment-of-policemen-against-dlsu-d.html/)
These are our buses heading back to school after being stopped and harassed by policemen at checkpoints and put in danger (also harassed) by surely policemen in civilian driving the FX van. (click for complete story: http://animotivation.blogspot.com/2008/03/harassment-of-policemen-against-dlsu-d.html/)
March 3, 2008 No Comments