Winning over the Woes of Change

Darna grieves over the death of her bato-carrying brother

named Ding. She asks for justice as the corpse Ding bears the sign
post Pusher ako.

This was the recent and controversial illustration drawn by

Israel Bobadilla amidst the looming issues on the present
administrations campaign against drugs, or as what the police call it,
war against criminality. While some people agree on their perceived
meaning of the illustration, others disagreed. There can be no
question about this, as it is normal that anything unusual or bold in
our society is criticized or seen as wrong. However, having the same
kind of thinking may also be perhaps, wrong.

According to the latest estimates of the Commission on Human Rights, over 10 drug-related deaths take
place every day in our country. For every mission to capture a suspect, it is more likely for him / her to get killed
in the process if he / she would not surrender. People have been bothered about this, especially the CHR.
Whats alarming for many is the assurance of the accusationdo the ones killed really push drugs?

Although this question remains unanswered, we cannot also presume the negative answer it bears. We
can only hope that the police and the government are following due process in the capturing of criminals for the
greater good of many Filipinos.

The change we are wanting is happening in a process that some may doubt about or not agree with, but
still, it ought to be given a chance. Change is not always necessarily conventional because at times, it can be
unusual. The way it takes place may be totally different from what we have been accustomed to. It can be
something that we may not have seen yet before. This is not to justify that the killings of accused drug suspects
nor does this say that we should get used to bloody campaign against criminality if we want change to happen.
However, it gives chance and hope for the possibility of success on the unusual change that is taking place. In
the first place, we also do not have complete knowledge of all the cases we watch on TV, and we cannot
automatically think that the unusual change that we are seeing is a case of injustice. It is either we close or open
our eyes to the possible change that could even be greater than the clouds of doubt forming in our heads.

In the same way that the road to forevermore may be bumpy or tough, the road to change can also be
hard as it involves making things new and even breaking walls of disbelief and anxiety. It dares us to challenge
our own selves as to how open-minded we can become to change, even as it is much different to how we want
it to happen.

For one good thing, it is notable that something is already happening. It is a reasonable mandate to
restore the authority of the government so that the people will fear committing unlawful acts. Drug pushers
continue to surrender every day for they get alarmed already on the governments campaign against drugs.
Streets are becoming safer for the small-time criminals know that once they commit a crime, they will be duly
punished.

Change has come and we could not (perhaps) hamper its continuous coming. We can only pray for the
best impact that it can bring to our country. As for the possibility of innocent lives being killed like Ding in Israels
illustration, change can also take placein our minds. It may not be wrong to save Darna and ourselves from
thinking of and judging on things we have not confirmed yet as truth.

We now rejoice over the rising again of change which has long been dead and buried under the grounds
of fear, doubt and uncertainty. The more changed we get, the more change our countrys fate will have.

Danna Mae T. Yuzon

August 1, 2016