Royal families
By
HOW are drug dealers like serial killers? If you’ve watched enough crime movies and TV documentaries, you’d guess that they are “nice people” who “never bothered anybody” and in fact behaved like good neighbors.
In the Philippine setting, we’ve seen how a rich and powerful couple, immediately after they were shot and killed by unidentified (?) persons, were praised for their generosity and philanthropy by their community, who then offered the ultimate tribute of a massive turnout at their funeral. The women wept and wailed, the men bore their grief stoically. They denied that the man and his wife, the couple that they knew so well, were trading in drugs, even if the President had said so. How could they be drug lords, they were kind, they supported the church, never said no to anyone in need.
In their fine clothes and with their charming manners, Mr. and Mrs. looked like a royal pair, though they were not addressed as Your Excellency or Your Honor. Come to think of it, how many of the 22 mayors and 7 vice mayors currently on the President’s list (as researched by GMA News) are running a cozy, lucrative family business (next stop: Family empire)? To spot them, one would have to look for the most obvious signs of wealth and power. With lucre earned from the trade, they would acquire power, to show their power they would need a platoon and a squad of heavily armed bodyguards, a fleet of cars, at least two expensive lawyers, and best of all, positions in government to better “serve the people” and grow their business, from which source they would then flash the cash to win the next election, field their children and relatives, and grandly build a dynasty, just like a power center.
In this respect, Manila is not THE center of power – too many eyes, too many know-it-alls, too much competition. The farther away from Malacañang, Congress, and media, the safer for them. A radio report has quoted a police source as saying that DU30’s dirty, dreadful list does not contain the name of any Metro Manila mayor, though one or a few could be labeled protector. What a show their arrest would make – that is, if they’re ever going to be royally arrested!