Syndrome of impunity
The terribly brutal and wicked murder of 64 people in Maguindanao created a nationwide outrage condemning the suspected mastermind with protest actions and public statements demanding justice for the victims
How could an individual contemplate such an incomparable magnitude of ruthless carnage of civilians and media people? What made certain individuals accomplish blatant crimes with impunity?
Could it be that our indifference to act on something that do not directly affect us have raised the impunity syndrome?
How many of us will act or expose an ongoing pickpocket perpetrated to an unsuspecting fellow passenger in a jeepney? Would you try and stop the criminal in victimizing your fellow? Or become a silent witness and freeze at the threatening stare of the culprit and cohorts?
Will you stop or prevent a “bukas-kotse” gang from stealing valuables from a parked vehicle as you witness a suspect breaking the glass to gain entry while a lookout is watching your moves?
Are you willing to stand witness and pinpoint a drug pusher in your neighborhood who intimidates those with intent on interfering in his activities?
These are but a few of the common scenarios that some of us may have encountered at one time or another which we may have ignored or let it come to pass as we don’t want to be involved in for fear of our own safety or avoid such to impede in our daily struggle for our own ordinary existence.
We ordinary mortals fear more of intervening or reporting higher degree of crime such as the murder of opponents to one’s reign in power or illegal activities like smuggling, illegal logging, jueteng and gambling, drugs, etc as the people involved have more resources and connections to be above the law.
But, there are exposes made and senate investigations done about corruption in the highest level in government with billions of pesos involved like scandals in ZTE, fertilizer fund, sports funds, etc. but nothing changed and people involved continue to commit these acts in mockery of our sensibilities.
We have cases filed in court for murders of activists and journalists yet the victims continue to cry out for justice in their graves. The murder of our hero Ninoy Aquino is one glaring example of the inability of the government to serve justice that not even his widow, Cory Aquino, who became President, was able to bring before the court the person responsible for the murder.
One reason for the syndrome of impunity to breed could be the common folk’s lack of concern sometimes in stopping the commission of crimes for fear of reprisal, but, the government’s lack in reliability to protect the citizenry, failure to dispense justice and the defense by the powers that be of their families and cronies rather had made malignant the disease thus encouraging corrupt and murderous individuals to further commit shameless frauds and ruthless actions.
Will there be an antidote to this syndrome of impunity? Or has it become an incurable affliction in our society?
