Duterte Supporters: You Might as Well Do it Right, Well, Sort of... /s

If you really want a self-professed vigilante iron fist cum dictator ubermensch for president, you might as well do it right, well, sort of... /s

First of all, what you ideally want is a police state under Federalism. At least, that is what I am assuming because what I really see is the anarchical tendencies of espousing vigilantism.

Sa Tagalog, kung hindi anarchy o military dictatorship ang gusto niyo, Police State ang angkop na deskripsyon sa inyong adhikain. Not unless you really want a military dictatorship, which does not make sense because that would mean Duterte has to form his own military junta, if he hasn’t already. Kung gayon, e wag na lang tayo magkaroon ng eleksyon dahil aanuhin pa natin ang Demokrasya kung ganon lang naman pala ang gusto ninyo.

BUT...

For the benefit of the doubt and for the purposes of this discussion, I’m going to “santabi” or ignore the more salient points going against such political paradigm. After all and sadly, that is the crux and essence of political discourse in this country: to ignore fact, history and statistics. We are a nation who listens more to emotional and funny quips by entertainers, sexy stars and singers rather than thinkers.

I will give you the benefit of the doubt.

What is a police state?

Wikipedia’s treatment, comes to the fore:

“Police state is a term denoting a government that exercises power arbitrarily through the power of the police force. Originally the term designated a state regulated by a civil administration, but since the beginning of the 20th century, the term has "taken on an emotional and derogatory meaning" by describing an undesirable state of living characterized by the overbearing presence of the civil authorities.

The inhabitants of a police state may experience restrictions on their mobility, or on their freedom to express or communicate political or other views, which are subject to police monitoring or enforcement. Political control may be exerted by means of a secret police force which operates outside the boundaries normally imposed by a constitutional state” (Wikipedia)

Related to the concept of the police state are the following concepts:

• - Arbitrary arrest and detention
• - Kangaroo court
• - Counterintelligence state
• - Dictatorship
• - Martial law, the suspension of normal civil law during periods of emergency
• - Military dictatorship
• - Surveillance state

Arbitrary arrest and detention - by wikipedia’s definition, is “the arrest or detention of an individual in a case in which there is no likelihood or evidence that they committed a crime against legal statute, or in which there has been no proper due process of law.”

Here’s one of the reasons why I likened vigilantism to anarchy. In vigilantism, you don’t need to arrest the suspect or the person of interest. One of the regional death squads would just send them to Manila bay to fatten the fish there or just leave them on the creek beside the school.

That is why vigilantism will lead to anarchy. There is no need for any sort of court of law, much more a kangaroo court. In the case of execution squads, sila na ang judge, sila na ang imbestigador, sila na ang prosecutor, sila na rin ang executioner. So bakit pa kailangan ng mga korte? Hindi na rin kailangan ng mga abogado o ng mga pulis, o ng mga SOCO.

Ibasura na rin natin ang Bill of Rights at ang Constitution ng Pilipinas.

Kangaroo Court

A kangaroo court is a judicial tribunal or assembly that blatantly disregards recognized standards of law or justice, and often carries little or no official standing in the territory within which it resides. Merriam-Webster defines it as a "mock court in which the principles of law and justice are disregarded or perverted". The term may also apply to a court held by a legitimate judicial authority who intentionally disregards the court's legal or ethical obligations.

A kangaroo court is often held to give the appearance of a fair and just trial, even though the verdict has in reality already been decided before the trial has begun.

Again, sa sistema na inihahain ng vigilantism, hindi man lang kakailanganin ng Kangaroo court. Of course, hindi ko talaga alam ang sistema na gusto niyo o ini-imagine ninyo pero, sino nga ba ang nagdidisisyon kung sino ang dapat ma-salvage? Kung sa tingin ninyo ay hindi umuubra ang mga korte natin laban sa mga kriminal, sindikato at maiimpluwensyang mga tao - bakit pa nga kakailanganin ng kahit anong korte? Mapa-lehitimo o Mapa-kangaroo.

Counter-Intelligence State

According to a definition, "The counterintelligence state is characterized by the presence of a large, elite force acting as a watchdog of a security defined as broadly that the state must maintain an enormous vigilance and enforcement apparatus... This apparatus is not accountable to the public and enjoys immense police powers... Whether the civilian government is able to control the security bodies is an open question; indeed the civilian government is so penetrated by the apparatus that there is no clear distinction between the two."

Batid ko na mayroong discretionary intelligence funding ang ilang mga nilalang sa iba’t ibang dako ng kapuluan. Iba’t iba ang ranggo at iba iba ang halaga kung magkano ang tanggap. Hindi kinakailangang maging lehitimo sa mata ng batas, bagkus ay nabibigyan sila ng mga gawaing masasabi nating extra-judicial. Kasama sa mga tungkulin nila ang mag-matyag sa mga personalidad o magparticipate sa mga law enforcement operation.

Ang sabi nga ng isa sa akin, “tumatanggap ako ng intelligence funding, wala naman akong ginagawa...”

Sino ang mga ito? Nariyan lang sila sa tabi-tabi at minamatyagan ang kilos ng mga tao.

Kung sakaling papalawigin pa ang ganitong sistema at bibigyan pa ng karampatang kapangyarihan, magkakaroon ng iba’t ibang epekto sa mga komyunidad. Ang problema sa kapangyarihang walang check, balance at accountability, ay maaari itong gamitin para sa pansariling mga kadahilanan.

Absolute power, corrupts absolutely.

Dictatorship

Dictatorship is a form of government where a country is ruled by one person or political entity, and exercised through various mechanisms to ensure the entity's power remains strong.

A dictatorship is a type of authoritarianism, in which politicians regulate nearly every aspect of the public and private behavior of normal people. Dictatorships and totalitarianism generally employ political propaganda to decrease the influence of proponents of alternative governing systems, as is the nature of nationalism of any governing system.

Sa kasaysayan ng buong mundo, iba-iba ang naging dulot ng mga diktatura. Kakailanganin natin ng mahabang pagsusuri at pag-aaral bago natin mahusgahan ang mga tunay na epekto ng mga ito. Isang bagay lamang ang tiyak sa mga ganitong pagkakataon at ito ang sentralisasyon ng kapangyarihan sa isang grupo o pamilya. Sa kabilang dako, eto’y maaaring makapagbigay ng kaanyuan o “appearance” of order/kaayusan, lalo na kung isasantabi natin ang mga basic na karapatan ng mga tao.

Kung gusto ninyo, ilalahad ko ang ilan sa mga diktaturang naranasan na ng mundo:

1. Joseph Stalin - Soviet Union
2. Mao Tse Tung - People's Republic of China 1949 - 1959
3. Pol Pot - Cambodia 1963 - 1997
4. Adolf Hitler - Nazi Germany
5. Mobutu Sese Seko - Zaire
6. Saddam Hussein - Iraq
7. Ferdinand Marcos - Philippines
8. Kim Il Sung - North Korea

*Note, if we are going to be stringent with regards to the political science definition of dictator, there are various kinds and classifications. Political scientists and institutions such as Freedom House, Polity IV and DD Index tackle these. (Wikipedia)

To be continued, next topic: Can we really compare Singapore to the Philippines?