THIS year the song “Silent Night” would be two years short of being 200 years old.
The song written by Fr. Joseph Mohr and set to music by Franz Gruber, first performed by them on December 24, 1818 at the St. Nicholas Church in in Oberndorf, Austria, and translated into different languages have been enjoyed by many as part of Christmas traditions around the world for 198 years now.
But it will be a different kind of Christmas for families of the 5,882 who according to the Philippine National Police (PNP) were killed in the first six months of the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte. Of this number, 2,041 were reportedly drug suspects killed by police under Project Double Barrel from July 1 to December 6.
Another 3,841 were “murdered outside police operations” from July 1 to November 30, which have also been referred to as extra-judicial killings (EJKs) or deaths under investigation (DUIs).
A parody of “Silent Night” by a Davao artist attempts a description of how Christmas would be for the families of the victims, particularly the 3,841 who were EJKs or DUIs.
“Silent night, gory night/Some are dumb, some are blind/Round the alleys are dead bodies/All are victims of EJKs/They all come from the poor masses/While the rich ones are all spared/Silent Night, gloomy night/Si Nang Beling, naaling-aling/Bugtong anak nadamay sa shooting/Sa gitira sa riders in tandem/Sleep in heavenly peste/Sleep in heavenly fist.”
One can only imagine the grief of those who would be marking the first of many Christmases without loved ones who died because of alleged involvement in illegal drugs.
There are those who say that it is important to also be thankful for the kind of silent night associated with reduced crime.
Comparing the same period of July to November for 2015 and 2016,the PNP reported that the volume of index crimes (i.e., incidence of theft, carjacking, robbery, physical injury, rape, and homicide cases) decreased.
The PNP also said that the number of murder cases rose more than 50 percent.
But to say that Filipinos now feel safer because of reduced criminality unfortunately misses the point, because the rise in murder, the DUIs, and even those killed in police operations are also peace and order, and police problems.
It is difficult for citizens to feel safe knowing that killers are still on the loose. Senator Panfilo Lacson, himself a former police official, argued that the DUI resolution rate of 21.4 percent as of December 12 (785 resolved of 3,671DUIs) is low.
With 17 officers killed in anti-drug operations in the country beginning July 1, the ratio is estimated at about one police killed for every 120 suspects slain.
For context, consider the ABS-CBN December 6 report that compared the Philippines 1:120 figure to Rio de Janeiro in 2015 where one officer was killed for every 24.8 people who died in operations.
Citing a July 2016 Human Rights Watch report, ABS-CBN noted that the Rio rate was already “more than double that of South Africa and triple that of the United States.”
Killings involving the police are subject to investigations by the PNP Internal Affairs Service (IAS) but there have been no reprisals reported so far.
How do Filipinos stand in relation to all these? The fourth quarter 2016 Social Weather Survey of the Social Weather Stations indicated that 85 percent of 1,500 respondents interviewed nationwide are satisfied with the anti-drug drive.
However, 78 percent are apprehensive that they or someone they know would be EJKs.
Thus, killings related to drugs add to a climate of fear rather than relieve it.
Furthermore, 94 percent agreed that it was "very important" or "somewhat important" that drug suspects are caught alive. This signals concern over the violent aspect of the anti-drug campaign.
As we celebrate Christmas season, let us take time to reflect on and commit to future courses of action so that the “sleep in heavenly peace” extolled in “Silent Night” does not translate into a violently imposed “peace of the grave” for more Filipinos in the coming years.
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