This is my delayed reaction to Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim's angry and tearful outburst over the Incident Investigation and Committee Report on the August 23 Luneta Hostage Taking Fiasco wherein he was among the personalities recommended for sanction.
I just can not let it pass for during his outburst he said something that might explain why our police and military time and again never fail to fail public expectation.
Mayor Lim was quoted to have said "you can not rely on anybody except policemen and soldiers who are paid to die. No other professional will offer to sacrifice their lives for you..."
As this statement was allowed by the public to go unchallenged, it might be safe to assume that the public believes in this idea - that policemen and soldiers are paid to die for us.
But this is so wrong an idea. Our military and police are not paid to die for us. No one should be paid to die for us.
What our military and police are paid to do is to uphold and defend our law, maintain order, and fight for our national honor even as it is every citizens duty to do so in case they have to. Those who do not understand this are dangerously misguided, especially those who are authorized to bear firearms.
It is this erroneous thinking that can explain why the military and the police may be comfortable being incompetent, corrupt and crooked since they think their proper duty is to die for the public when chance and occasions call.
I just can not let it pass for during his outburst he said something that might explain why our police and military time and again never fail to fail public expectation.
Mayor Lim was quoted to have said "you can not rely on anybody except policemen and soldiers who are paid to die. No other professional will offer to sacrifice their lives for you..."
As this statement was allowed by the public to go unchallenged, it might be safe to assume that the public believes in this idea - that policemen and soldiers are paid to die for us.
But this is so wrong an idea. Our military and police are not paid to die for us. No one should be paid to die for us.
What our military and police are paid to do is to uphold and defend our law, maintain order, and fight for our national honor even as it is every citizens duty to do so in case they have to. Those who do not understand this are dangerously misguided, especially those who are authorized to bear firearms.
It is this erroneous thinking that can explain why the military and the police may be comfortable being incompetent, corrupt and crooked since they think their proper duty is to die for the public when chance and occasions call.
With this thinking, Mayor Lim is on the same wavelength as hostage taker Mendoza who finds nothing wrong with resorting to a criminal act to get the Ombudsman clear his name for some graft charge filed against him. He is also in stride with the police and military officers who grumble that some people are concerned about the human rights of perceived criminals but not their killing rights over these criminals.
After every major scandal or fiasco involving the police and military, there is a clamor for better training for them. But unless their fundamental values and thinking are examined and properly oriented, the public can not really expect much to change.
Mayor Lim is known as a nemesis of drug lords, crooks and other low lifes. But since he is wont to use shortcuts, can he really be said to be a defender of the law?
Maybe in his own book. But only his own.
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