KRISTA JESSYL GABUCAN

[SECTION]

CRIMINALITY AND VIOLENCE

I am very glad to have the opportunity to speak before a diverse audience

because of the sensitive subject Im about to raise to you today.

Ladies and Gentlemen, before I begin, I would like to ask a question to all
of you to ponder at this very moment. How is criminality affecting us in our
society and in our daily responsibilities? Seeming that we have different
professions and aspects of life that we are more focused on. I would like to know
your different take on the outset of criminality in the Philippines.

Crime is an aspect of life that all citizens must deal with, as it seems to
have been around as long as civilization itself. Finding the root source of this
plague has been on the minds of criminologists and others for centuries. This is
because the control, reduction, and prevention of crime has been a major
problem in our society and many others 1 According to the Philippine Statistics
Authority the top 2 classification of common crimes in the Philippines are (1)
Crimes against Persons, which has the total rate of 258,444 for the year 2014
and (2) Crimes against Property which has a the total rate of 231,048 for the year
2014. Crimes against persons such as murder and rape and crimes against
property such as robbery and theft are among the highest rates in the statistical
index and only few of the said crimes are being solved at the end of the year with
only 295,237 out of 1,033,833 for the year 2013.

With all these data and facts presented before us, we couldnt help but ask
why. Why are they doing this? Why are they breaking the law? What could
possibly be the reason why they go through lengths on committing those criminal

1 Philippines in Figures 2016 ISSN 1655-2539

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actions. Well, according to the studies, 2It is difficult to find a succinct, broad and
non-technical discussion of the causes of crime. But, currently, the three major
aspects include a lack of education, living in poverty and family structure. Each of
these perspectives offer insight to crimes true cause, but it seems that none can
stand alone. Crime is a complex issue that may stem from many sources, but a
lack of education, generational poverty, and the rupture of family structure each
seem to play a prominent role in criminal activity.

Even with these already ambiguous causes, we are also facing the
infamous extrajudicial killings. What is Extra-Judicial Killing? Extrajudicial killing
is defined as a deliberated killing not authorized by a previous judgment
pronounced by a regularly constituted court affording all the judicial guarantees
which are recognized as indispensable by civilized or a is the 3killing of a person
by governmental authorities without the sanction of any judicial proceeding or
legal process. Extrajudicial killing have been around for centuries even before the
Marcos regime, even prominent in other countries such as Syria, Iraq, Egypt,
Libya, Central America. Mexico, Columbia and Libya. In the Philippines, the
Extra-Judicial killing, are predominant in the light of Political Corruption,
massacres and most recently the war on drugs.

Historically, in the Philippines, extra-judicial killing was even remedied by

the government by promulgating the law on the Writ of Amparo, which according
to Justice Puno a rule that will provide the victims of extralegal killings and
enforced disappearances the protection they need and the promise of vindication
for their rights. A rule that empowers our courts to issue reliefs that may be
granted through judicial orders of protection, production, inspection and other
relief to safeguard one's life and liberty The Writ of Amparo shall hold public
authorities, those who took their oath to defend the constitution and enforce our
laws, to a high standard of official conduct and hold them accountable to our

2 http://www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/Documents/CJB/cjb54.pdf
3 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extrajudicial_killing

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people, and Habeas Data, which according to Justice Puno, a new legal remedy
to solve the extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances. Furthermore,
Puno explained that the writ of amparo denies to authorities defense of simple
denial, and habeas data can find out what information is held by the officer,
rectify or even the destroy erroneous data gathered. This remedies was made
light because of the inefficacy and the insufficiency of the writ of habeas corpus.

Philippines have a high murder rate for journalist according to the

Committee to Protect Journalist with a 4total of 78 Journalist since 1982, the
highest beats covered by the journalist is politics with the rate of 62% followed by
the 42% Corruption, 26% Crime, 6% Human Rights, 3% Business and 1% being
the War. Notably, the largest amount of killed journalist was the Ampatuan
massacre with a total of 30 Journalist and 2 Media Workers killed.

We also have to note the current issue in the country, which is the war on
drugs. Anti-drug campaign is a top priority of the administration of President
Rodrigo Duterte, who assumed power last July 1. 5According to the information
bulletin released by the police, the government has conducted 40,982 anti-drug
operations from July 1 last year to January 7 this year. The police killed 2,206
drug personalities during this period while 44,070 were arrested. The police
acknowledged that 4,049 suspected drug personalities were victims of vigilante-
style killings or what we call as unabated extrajudicial killings involving state
forces. The president admitted that several innocent civilians, including children,
were killed by the police in some of the anti-drug operations. Even, the Citizens
Council for Human Rights strongly condemns the escalating number of killings of
suspected drug pushers and drug dependents who said to have died either
during so-called legitimate police operations or at the hands of unknown gunmen.

4 https://www.cpj.org/killed/asia/philippines/
5 http://thediplomat.com/2017/01/dutertes-war-on-drugs-in-the-philippines-by-

the-numbers/

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 Criminologist for many years found many alternative solutions to solve
Researcher Anilena Mejia from University of Queensland 6suggested to treating
violence as a public health concern by using campaigns and technology to reach
out to every child and family in countries such as the Philippines, and develop
tools to make sure that everybody feels important and cared through parenting
interventions, family interventions, wellbeing campaigns, and early childhood
education. Robert Muggah, research director of Igarape Institute, Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil, and the SecDev Foundation, Canada 7suggest to focus on the hotspot or
the so called hot people. Damian Platt, researcher, activist and author, Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil, 8suggested to look at the whole picture, he iterated that While
people are aware that there are high levels of lethal violence in Brazil, this is
often misrepresented by national and international media as a simple cops vs
robbers dynamic, a misrepresentation that more often than not criminalizes
poverty.

In addition, Natasha Leite suggested that we have to learn from history

because for example, 9a lot of human rights violations of massive proportions in
Brazil, such as slavery and dictatorship, were never really dealt within a
transitional or reconciliation process. At the same time, the security forces are
relying on structures that dont make sense and foster competition and
corruption. As well as, Damian Platt, iterated that 10we have to keep in mind the
impact of drugs and that It is time for all international anti-violence development
initiatives to take this on board. It still amazes me how much taboo there is
around this issue, especially regarding the cocaine industry.

6 https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-

network/2015/jun/30/24-ways-to-reduce-in-the-worlds-most-violent-cities
7 https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-

network/2015/jun/30/24-ways-to-reduce-in-the-worlds-most-violent-cities
8 https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-

network/2015/jun/30/24-ways-to-reduce-in-the-worlds-most-violent-cities
9 https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-

network/2015/jun/30/24-ways-to-reduce-in-the-worlds-most-violent-cities
10 https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-

network/2015/jun/30/24-ways-to-reduce-in-the-worlds-most-violent-cities

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 With all these solutions laid down before us, one cant help but think, the
extent of criminality present in our society and the volume of how it is affecting
the people that even if there are numerous solutions studied by the best of the
best of experts, we are still lost in the oblivion of the vast problem we are
currently facing. Why? Is it that hard to solve this problem? Is it that hard to make
a move and make a difference?

Easier said than done right? Easier in knowledge but our ability, your
ability, the societies ability to become unified and act out what is ethical for the
benefit of everyone around them is so hard. Because we are programmed in this
world to earn, we are programmed that power is equivalent to happiness. And
because of that single thought we learned to practice greed, live for money and
hail power. It is but this single thought that we use predominantly our knowledge
only to our advantage and not to the society, not as a whole and promote peace.

There is a reason why all these solutions laid down before us doesnt work
because just like its causes, one cannot stand on its own for it to take effect, it
must be applied in harmony and unity to see the difference, to make an impact
and finally solved this oblivion we call as criminality. Taking in consideration all
the touch points of this solutions and apply it all together and not individually to
create a thud. A giant cannot shake the whole country, but the jump of all the
citizens at the same time in that country is enough to trigger the wave that
causes the shake.

John Donne once said that 11 All mankind is of one author, and is one
volume, when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but
translated into a better language, and every chapter must be so translated. As
therefore the bell that rings to a sermon, calls not upon the preacher only, but
upon the congregation to come, so this bell calls us all, No man is an island,
entire of itself any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in

11 http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/no-man-is-an-island.html

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mankind. And I wholeheartedly agree to that, no one person can solve what we
are experiencing right now. No one person, can engage an impact to make
everyone realize what we are slowly losing and currently gaining. We are slowly
losing humanity within all of us, and rapidly gaining the punishment of greed in
the form of thriving power.

We have to prioritize to keep us one and the same goal, to live in place
where we are proud to bear a child and make them live in it. To work in a place
where money is not our single handed goal, but because we love our job. To go
home to a neighborhood where we are not afraid of violence. Wouldnt that be
nice?

If there is one thing I learned from all of these research is that regardless
of whether or not our little impacts will not make a wave by continuously doing
so, and in the hopes that everyone will do so in the long run, is one of the tiny
pleasures that you give to yourself to make a better world for you and keep your
humanity intact.

To exclude myself from the social norm, and live a life that is bereft of
greed and power. Be fair to everyone, and value them, like I value myself. Maybe
only then, I can see small differences within me and in my life, that is worth living
for.

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