GOOGLE Kuratong Baleleng and you will find this at the very top: "Kuratong Baleleng is an organized crime syndicate in the Philippines that once was an anti-communist vigilante group."
Realities like this make us want to spit at the faces of the hawks in the military; them who only want war and conflict to continue as there lies promotions and a lot of other perks. Realities like this reacquaint us with the military we have hated with our very souls during the height of the Martial Law under the Marcos Dictatorship.
Kuratong Baleleng wasn't the only para-military-slash-vigilante group organized by the military that has long lost its relevance and turned to crime instead.
Todate, we have the Alamara and Baganihan, the corrupted versions of tribal warriors. In the past we had the Black Shirt and Ilaga, and of course, the dreaded CHDF (Civilian Home Defense Force) and Kumander Toothpick of Marcos fame.
Time and again, it has been proven that arming militiamen has resulted to abuses if not criminal directions after they have served their initial purpose. Why the same continues to be employed now gives us a hint into the mercenary slant of many an official.
That this slant stands uncorrected until now should tell us, the people, that we should by this time raising a howl.
In every undertaking to bring peace, there will always be lessons learned. But to repeat actions that have led to perdition over and over again is unacceptable.
"Insanity is repeating the same mistakes and expecting different results," is an adage attributed to Albert Einstein, which many have already pointed out was a misattribution. But it no longer matters who first said it, the thought remains the same.
We've been living with insanity for so long and are reaping its grim fruits. Will we go on like this forever? Will we allow our armed forces and the police to go on like this forever?
We say, no.