Dave Achondo I CAN commend the government for its resolve to effectively implement projects and its determination to make the crime rate drop. But… I am with those who condemn unjustified killings of people on mere suspicion that they are drug addicts or users or pushers. I can’t seem to make sense of the fact that many of them were not given due process. Many were not even proven to have done what they were accused of doing to begin with. And that’s a red flag right there. No, it is not enough to place a cardboard on the corpses with the message “Pusher Ako, Wag Tularan.” That is not evidence of guilt. What? The man was guilty because the killer labeled him as a criminal? And people swallow that hook, line and sinker without even an investigation? Did the criminal justice system just die when I was sleeping or has it gone on leave for six years? Tao pa rin yan. The last time I checked, we live in a country that has laws that give people the chance to prove an accusation or prove their innocence before a court of law. We also live in a country that supposedly embraces the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 11 of the Declaration states: “Everyone charged with a penal offense has the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defense.” Sadly, nowadays, it’s “guilty until proven innocent.” I don’t know if people realize that the methods being used against crime suspects and against those allegedly involved in the proliferation of illegal drugs, can be used, too, on them and other innocent citizens. These days, people can point an accusing finger at anyone without proving it. But we know that accusing and showing evidence are two different things. I say drug addicts and pushers should face the consequences of their actions, and they deserve to be arrested, prosecuted and punished. Many of those addicted also need society’s help. We really don’t have to bury them. What is tragic is that many--perhaps a good 90 percent of society--approve of all the extrajudicial killings that have been taking place in this country. It’s really sad that only a handful are thinking straight. Will this be the trend in the next six years. This early, the death toll has already reached over a thousand. Do the math. How many people, without seeing a courtroom, would be killed in a year’s time on mere suspicion of drug links? Anyone can be mistaken or even falsely accused as a drug addict or pusher, and all it takes is for your name to be in a list. Judging from the number of fatalities being reported daily in the evening news, it’s a “hit list.”