CONTEST PIECE FOR REGIONAL SECONDARY SPEECH CONTEST

“Rage Against Impunity”

‘Judge shot dead, wife wounded in court compound in Baler’

‘Jealous dad kills 3 children’

‘Teenager kills ex-girl’s BF’

These and more are the news stories that we, Filipinos, have to live with each day. Every day, an average guy is gunned down to death in a far off neighborhood in Luzon. A woman

is mugged in a dark alley on her way home may be in Visayas. An innocent kid is desecrated in the dark in Mindanao. A Filipino is being violated on a day to day basis. This, maybe, has become a casual run-on-the-mill in the country, but this is certainly no laughing matter.

Perhaps, it does not take a genius to build the bigger picture these headlines reveal. There, beyond the lines, is depicted a picture of a grim reality- that crime is breeding in the country. That a culture of violation of rights is taking the country by storm. That we are living under the mercy of the criminals’ illusion of impunity. With these, I beg the question, WHAT SHOULD WE DO?

Crime, a common household concept, is as old as human civilizations. It has endured several millennia. It has grown as a healthy parasite in the thriving communities of men. It has somehow eluded the crushing arms of justice. In the first six months of the year, an increase of 46% in the number of crimes committed nationwide has been noted as compared with the figures for last year during the same period. Without stating the obvious, this figure happens to include men, women, and children, who were resolved to become part of a dead statistic by people who afford no respect for the rights of others.

Undoubtedly, crime, as our common enemy, has grown far out of proportion to be handled by only a selected few.

For this, I hold the opinion, and I daresay that the fight against crime prevention and crime solution is not only the battle of the men in uniform. It does not matter only to the elderly lady who has five bolts to lock her door, or to the woman who is terrified to walk home in the dark. No, this is not just a burden for the few. Rather, this matters to all of us. It has become incumbent upon us to rise against crimes and to rage against impunity. If we really put premium on our rights and respect the same, we should wake up to the reality that dismissing such proactive stand against crime is no longer an option.

Not only the police should be entrusted with such responsibility but also the people.

Not just empowering the police but empowering the people also.

The Filipinos have to realize that to enjoy security and peace, everyone has to stand up against crimes in a collective manner. As citizens of the country, each one has the reciprocal and moral obligation to look after his or her fellow’s back. Through the power of social media, modern technology, and better access with the elements of law enforcement, people must act with the end in mind of crushing the common enemy. Only then that we can extend the hand of justice and pierce through the cloak of fake impunity behind which these criminals hide.

And all of this shall fit into the bigger, broader picture of what the Government is doing.

By putting an end to the bloody streak of crimes, we can finally put to rest the overhanging worry that hover in everybody’s mind that danger is just around the corner, waiting for its next prey.

And we can go to all those communities where life was like a dead-end, where crime felt inevitable, and there we can restore hope and opportunity too.