EDITORIAL – No place for vigilantism

From Metro Manila to Mindanao, bodies, some of them dismembered, are once again turning up. Some bear pieces of cardboard or paper warning the public about the evils of drug trafficking. Others, particularly those in Mindanao, are suspected to have been executed as part of a campaign against terrorism.

Some quarters suspect the killers to be either cops or thugs sanctioned by local governments. Authorities, on the other hand, attribute the executions to vigilantes. Citizens, tired of lawlessness and terrorism, appear to be unconcerned about the executions, so long as the dead are not their loved ones or friends.

And there lies one problem in vigilantism: you never know if you’ll be the next victim. The success of vigilantes in curbing criminality and terrorism in this country has been spotty at best. If vigilantes understand restraint and know when to stop, they could achieve their objective, which is to strike fear into the hearts of criminal elements. But with neither accountability nor supervision, who will tell the vigilantes that it’s time to stop?

In the campaign against drug trafficking, the people who turn up dead are mostly small-time crooks and addicts. It’s doubtful that the drug barons, with their powerful protectors and money to buy everyone from cops to judges, will be scared by the sight of a bloodied torso bearing a warning against pushers of shabu. As for terrorists, they are committed to a cause and will simply replace their executed foot soldiers with new recruits.

Even if vigilantism can claim a modicum of success, there is no place for such methods in an open society. It encourages laziness and incompetence in law enforcement, and can only further undermine the nation’s already weak criminal justice system. With people clamoring for the rule of law in a chaotic society, there is no room for vigilantism. President Arroyo, who has ordered a renewed campaign against drug traffickers and is pursuing a war against terrorists, should put her foot down and order a stop to these executions.