Stranger things

With apologies to the Netflix hit series bearing the same title, I present the strange times we are living in. A criminal walks free, even if he has confessed of his wrong of selling drugs. This is called due process.

A young activist integrating with farmers in Negros is arrested by soldiers and paraded to media (and social media) as an NPA. Paraffin tests revealed she did not fire a single shot from the rifle displayed by the soldiers beside her. This is called peace and order.

A 13-year-old boy in Tondo was shot by a hooded man. The boy died. A police admitted to the crime but said the gun went off by accident. Life is no accident. This state is no accident as its believers cheered this war.

Meanwhile, a Lumad school teacher in Trento was forced by soldiers to join farmers to appear on video, and say they have surrendered as NPA and are grateful for the soldiers saving them. We must wonder now about this recent parade of surrenderers and their meals at Malacañang is really a parade of sorts with no truth.

Eight other teachers and 12 students in Talaingod preparing for their moving up event were detained by soldiers and the paramilitary this Monday, reports the Save Our Schools Network. Their bags were searched, their faces photographed. Is this tokhang Lumad style?

A TV station fancies Baganis as a work of fiction. The government accuses around 20 indigenous peoples leaders in Mindanao and in Cordillera as CPP terrorists.

These times are stranger than fiction, when the wicked run free because the good people are being chased out.