17 fragments for Kian
AS FRAGMENTED as the people are in condemning or justifying Kian's death, my thoughts are in fragments as well.
1. Tatay Digong. That's how Duterte wants to call himself. The tatay as protector of the family, the haligi or the pillar of a house he believes is festered with drugs. Discipline. Kamao na bak al .
2. Tatay says this war on drugs is meant to save the next generation from evil. But who is doing the saving? And who needs to be saved, and how?
3. They set up a 17 year old boy. Boy was closing their store. They dragged him out, handed him a gun, and told him to run. Gunshots. Young body on the ground. Nanlaban kasi. Patay.
4. Kian's last word was, "Tama napo. May test pa ako bukas." He is a student, who wanted to be a cop. The irony.
5. The police are known for many names. Parak, pulis patola, buwaya. In fiction, they either arrive late to a crime scene, or they are the corrupt ones like in Probinsyano or On the Job. The real police under Duterte however are scarier. They hostage and killed a Korean national, they have affairs with terrorists, and they shoot down suspects.
6. Since July 2016, 60 cops in Napolcom have been investigated for violations in police procedures. 30 have been dismissed, 15 have been suspended, 15 are on "floating status." Abusive cops are sent to Marawi. Some said child killing cops and operatives should be sent to hell.
7. Before: "Anak, huwag kang magpagabi, maraming adik diyan. Now: "Anak, huwag kang magpagabi, may pulis."
8. Duterte said police involved in Kian's killing would be investigated and charged. Police get due process which Kian and thousands killed in the drug war were deprived of. Justice of the streets this ain't.
9. Kian has a father. A father who voted for Duterte and supported his war on drugs.
10. Kian's nickname is Pulong, which is the nickname of Duterte's son and vice mayor of Davao City, who is suspected for involvement in the shipment of P6-billion worth of shabu. The president asks for due process for the vice mayor.
11. How the police and Duterte defenders are coming out with excuses. The CCTV footage is not complete. Kian's father is actually the drug courier. There should always be a guilty one, but never the one who pulled the trigger.
12. If this war on drugs is meant to stop the disease, has anyone been cured?
13. 12,000 dead in this war, plus one more innocent teenager. Meanwhile, thousands of workers are still working suffering from endo, hundreds and thousands are jobless, farmers are landless. The war on poverty perhaps? 14. War saves? Duterte wants to bomb Lumad schools as it teaches rebellion. Duterte has bombed the houses of Marawi to rid of terrorists. Duterte wants to kill drug users and pushers. This is no country for the children who dream of a better future. 15. Is there comfort as parents to teach the young the justice of Duterte? That it is okay to bring out the gun to shoot down bad elements? Maybe we live in fiction too long. 16. The Manila he lives in is a city of urban blight. Cramped streets and houses. Traffic. Noise. Poverty. Wonder what this boy's dream and voice was? Escape? 17. Kian is 17. He is supposed to be ready for the world. Nobody saved him. We failed. His Tatay failed.