The problem with romanticizing vigilantes in the Philippines

Vigilantism has become mandated in the Philippines at a governmental level and this transformation was initiated with the inauguration of president Rodrigo Duterte. Within a week of his inauguration, police around the country started to mobilize, taking kids and drunkards off the streets, determined to pledge their allegiance to the president. The Manaloto discusses the president’s lack of regard for the rule of law in dealing with the country’s illegal drug trade. For example he encourages ordinary citizens to “Go ahead and kill them [those accused of criminal activity] yourself.” The author expresses that the scary thing is that people take him up in his challenge and that the violence has escalated to the point in which neighbours are killing each other. Manaloto provides a deep contextual analysis of President Duterte’s policies and how they affect the people of the Philippines.