OBLIQUE OBSERVATIONS
By Atty. Gilberto Lauengco, J.D.
Recently, news and social media feeds were filled with youthful offenders destroying public property and engaging police officers in violent fights in the Mendiola area. The said images are now overshadowing the massive and effective peaceful rallies at both Luneta and EDSA.
The gatherings at both EDSA and Luneta where thousands of people showed collective outrage against corruption, are crucial and historic events. There is a feeling that now is the time to push for reforms in how government spends people’s money. People from all walks of life gathered at the two sides and brandished placards and shouted chants and curses at those they perceived to be behind all these shenanigans. For these mass actions to produce concrete results, the pressure must be constant and eventually translated to the ballot box.
Unfortunately, the scenes of protesters destroying traffic lights, throwing bricks at police personnel, and even entering a private property to destroy and deface run the risk of bringing more harm than good to the struggle against corruption. I have had friends who try to defend these actions by stating that many of these people are angry and fed up and are justified in venting their anger. With apologies to some of my friends, I can never abide with any form of anarchy or wanton undirected violence. These forms of violence are actually counterproductive. The stoplights, the private properties concerned and even the hapless police have nothing to do with the issues at hand. Passion is a valid driving force in any movement but undirected negative emotions manifested in useless violent acts do nothing but damage the things that matter.
What is more unsettling is that most of the violent acts are being done by young kids or those who have just reached adulthood. Whether these violent actions were a result of outside agitation or a result of true anger at their plight, these actions cannot be allowed to run unchecked. First of all, incidents like these can damage the very movement now mushrooming against corruption. Second, uncontrolled youths that are allowed to run wild without consequence or intervention will eventually erode peace and order in any local government.
I used to work for a local government for nine years. One of our main problems when we started our first term was the large number of youthful offenders in our city jail. In personal interviews with many of them, we all saw the anger, feeling of hopelessness, and despair in those young kids. It was for this reason that my mayor started a high-octane program in educating these kids and giving them “re-education” programs. I saw the slow but steady improvement in their disposition. There were, however, truly disturbed and violent kids that needed to be separated from the community. I remembered these kids when I saw the aforesaid clips of the so-called “geng geng”. In my experience, many of them can still be saved given enough intervention.
My pet project then which I hoped government could implement is a special camp for certain youthful offenders which would be manned by trained re-educators. There is a similar camp in China that could serve as a model where wayward youths are given tough love but non-violent re-education sessions to make them productive members of society again. It would be a combination boot camp and healing institute. Funding and personnel? Perhaps, the wayward funds could be diverted to this project and some legislators could be made to volunteer as a way of atonement. Just a thought.
