Captains Courageous

by Gilbert R. Arbon - Dumaguete MetroPost


That was an interesting clash of opinions featured in last Sunday's issue (MetroPost 7/7/02). The debate was between a legislator, who found nothing wrong in arming some barangay captains with handguns bought with congressional funds, and a political gadfly, who questioned the wisdom of such action.

Rep. Orlando Fua of Siquijor, the legislator in question, was quite passionate in defending the expenditure, arguing essentially that the local chieftains needed firepower in order to be more effective in their job. But he failed to convince his critic, US-based Ms CarmeñaLuz Yurong-Miraflor. 

Now I don't really know if the difficulties the said barangay captains face in the regular discharge of their duties are so intimidating as to warrant the occasional discharge of firearms. Perhaps while we were looking the other way, the peace and order situation in Siquijor drastically deteriorated.  Maybe it has come to a point where the barangay captains now feel naked and powerless without a gun.  With a gun, they can always encourage people to obey the law -- it's not exactly an easy thing to say "No" to a gun-toting public servant.

If this is the case, then perhaps these "Captains Courageous" should also consider asking their solicitous congressman for bulletproof vests, just to be on the safe side. Who knows what crazy things people may do nowadays?

How times have changed. My grandfather, who used to be a barangay councilor and later captain when already a senior citizen, often broke up fights and ended disputes in our neighborhood armed with nothing more than guts, commonsense and a cane, which he wielded quite efficiently. But I guess in those days, people had more respect for so-called persons in authority.

It is perhaps symptomatic of the general breakdown of respect for authority at present that even grassroots politicians have started clamoring for lethal weapons, as though they were no different from policemen.  The irony here is that, in arming themselves in order to get the respect of the people, these politicians may instead be reaping the public's contempt and distrust.

In considering the controversy between Congressman Fua and Ms. Miraflor, we would do well to look at the bigger picture. Today, there are about two million unlicensed small arms and light weapons versus only 775,000 legitimate guns in the country, according to the latest news. This is certainly an alarming development. The question is: How exactly would putting more guns in the hands of barangay captains help reduce the proliferation of firearms?

One, of course, could argue that arming the barangay captains is like fighting fire with fire. But who will guarantee that the "friendly" fire will not become a threat in it itself? Who will guarantee that no trigger-happy barangay captain will abuse the privilege of having a gun? Who will guarantee that none of the firearms will be lost or stolen and eventually used for criminal ends?

I tell you, even if the two million unlicensed guns would all be registered today, that still would not solve the problem of rampant criminality and violence in this country. There is one sure way to fight fire, and that is to starve it of oxygen. There is one sure way to stop all the shooting, and that is to extinguish the culture of violence.
 
Engr. Gilbert Arbon is a regular columnist of the MetroPost, Dumaguete's leading Sunday newspaper