Who are these people trusting?

FINALLY cases of syndicated estafa have been filed against the top executive of the

Kapa Community Ministry

International, Inc. and his subalterns. The cases stem from the billions of pesos raked in by the supposed religious organization from investors cum donors who were lured by the glibtongued Kapa agents to donate under a promise of

30 percent “blessings” paid out monthly.

According to an official of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) National Capital Region (NCR) office, the agency is hoping that with the filing of the cases against Kapa’s chief minister Pastor Joel Apolinario the “donors” might be able to recover their money.

Knowing the Pastor to have acquired “connections” in high places of government and the military by making the concerned officials beneficiaries of the “blessings,” we doubt if the cases will prosper in due time.

We are very certain that the Ponzi style investment scheme executives will not hesitate to use the money they have accumulated over the years of its existence to influence the outcome of the cases.

And assuming that the courts will decide in the complainants’ and government’s favor, can the “donors” get their money back?

We are sure they cannot. After all, the money are already allocated by the Kapa executives for themselves and for their close friends, relatives and early “donors.” And the likelihood is that huge sums taken from the pooled funds could have already been deposited in accounts under other person’s name.

So, how can the “donors” expect to recover their donation?

Indeed we Filipinos have become so gullible to schemes that have the smell of money without much effort in working for it? Greed is the name of the game.

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A unit in the United Nations Organization (UN) is again pushing for an investigation into what human rights advocates groups claim to be crimes against humanity committed by the Duterte administration the deaths of some suspected personalities in his campaign against illegal drugs.

This new effort to drag the President to the bar of the International Criminal Court was highlighted in last Tuesday’s live television interview with former Mindanaoan journalist Carlos Conde who now heads the Asian operation of the group International Human Rights Watch.

Aided by an apparently biased program host, Conde lambasted the Duterte administration with the Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesman hearing at the other end of the line, claiming that there is a breakdown of law and order in the country and that a climate of fear and intimidation is prevailing forcing people not to file complaints with police authorities since most if not all deaths related to drugs are allegedly perpetrated by law enforcement agents.

Conde rubbed it on the face of the PNP spokesman Col. Ferdinand Banac that the reason why relatives of victims of the anti-illegal drugs campaign are not complaining because they are being intimidated by policemen who are themselves the subjects of their (relative’s) complaints.

Looking at Conde’s appearance he was so agitated and appeared to be certain of everything that he has charged the Duterte administration with.

The PNP spokesperson did everything he could to explain the position of the police even disputing the figures of slain and wounded drug personalities during the 3-year anti-illegal drugs campaign of the President. Conde however, would interrupt him by confronting the PNP spokesman with his own version of the results of several drug bust activities.

He and the host would not even listen to the PNP guy’s explanation that the police has already done their share in the prosecution of the policemen accused of illegal acts in the conduct of the drug bust like shooting the suspects dead, planting evidence against them, or intimidating the victims’ relatives; that the ball is now in the courts that hears the case and render the appropriate judgment on the cases.

And the Human Rights Watch guy in Asia was evasive when the police spokesperson confronted him with the result of the latest Social Weather Station (SWS) performance poll of the President, a record high of 80 percent acceptance rating.

It was a simple way of parrying the blow made by Conde with apparent support from the seemingly bias program host.

With this display of bravado by human rights advocates postulating respect to the right to life of drug personalities, we are constrained to ask these questions:

Whose human rights need to be respected and protected first and foremost: Is it the rights of law abiding citizens to

live a life of peace in a community free of the menace of drug crazed individuals? Or is it the rights of some people to be kept alive in order for them to destroy the future of the youth by letting them operate unhampered their illegal and life destructive trade?

It is indeed unfortunate that there is that tendency of close relatives of people who commit drug-related crimes to protect their kin and the reputation of their family. And there is this added misfortune of society when some self-proclaimed “do-gooders” take the cudgels for the suspected drug traders even if they know by heart that the alleged victims of law enforcers are really engaged in the commission of crimes they are being run after by the police authorities.

And these rights advocates are even encouraging the people not to trust their own government; the country’s own justice system. They want outsiders to interfere with our country’s internal affairs.

Why, are these people not aware that the reason why there are so many successful drug bust these days is because people in the community now report to the police who are those engaged in the illegal trade and where they are holed up or doing transactions? San indeed.