‘Don’t glamorize the life of criminals’

By Alex P. Vidal

 

“Violence as a way of achieving racial justice is both impractical and immoral. I am not unmindful of the fact that violence often brings about momentary results. Nations have frequently won their independence in battle. But in spite of temporary victories, violence never brings permanent peace.” —Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

A FORMER narcotics whistleblower from Western Visayas has expressed concern that if we continue to “glamorize” or remind the public about the death anniversary of criminals or notorious characters and “decrying” how they died and their cases have remained unsolved, “you could be sending a wrong signal to the public.”

The whistleblower reacted to the article we wrote Tuesday (September 1) about the fourth year (August 28, 2020) since suspected drug lord Melvin “Boyet” Odicta Sr. alyas “Dragon” and his wife, Merriam, were slain by unidentified assailants in Aklan in 2016.

“The media should not glamorize the life of crime leaders, especially the drug lords,” the whistleblower warned in the Messenger.

He alleged that before Dragon was killed, “several high-ranking police officials in Western Visayas and prominent politicians that included municipal mayors and councilors had been regularly spotted in a shooting range in the underground of a big house in Santa Barbara, Iloilo believed to be owned by the dead suspected drug lord.”

This information or “intelligence” report became the basis of President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s tirade immediately after he was elected in 2016 even as he vowed to kill those who are involved in illegal drugs and protection rackets.

Four years since the couple’s cold-blooded murder while they were returning to Iloilo from Manila via ro-ro, nobody from the couple’s family and associates has demanded justice.

 

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Dragon was reportedly “well-connected” and was enjoying the protection of some public and police officials for so many years “before they decided that he (Dragon) had to go when the Duterte administration took over.” He did not elaborate.

Meanwhile, never mind if some of their ilks are still very much alive today, enriching themselves astronomically, killing people left and right, and violating our laws with impunity.

Their time will come, anyway. Crime doesn’t pay.

History, in fact, is not kind to some of the most notorious gangsters and drug dealers based on the way they died:

—Joe Aiello (1928-1930), assassinated on October 23, 1930.

—Al Capone (1899-1947), syphilis and pneumonia.

—Steve Ferrigno, assassinated on November 5, 1930.

—Antonio Lombardo, assassinated on September 7, 1928

—Salvatore Maranzano, assassinated on September 11, 1931.

—Giuseppe Masseria (Joe the Boss), assassinated on April 10, 1931.

—Bugs Moran (August 1891–February 25, 1957), lung cancer.

—Alfred Mineo, assassinated on November 5, 1930.

—Joseph Pinzolo assassinated on September, 1930.

—Gaetano Reina, assassinated on February 28, 1930.

—John Torrio (The Fox), heart attack on April 16, 1957.

—Frankie Yale, assassinated on July 1, 1928.

—Dragon, murdered on August 28, 2016.

 

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As we age, we become conscious of the food we eat primarily because of health reasons.

According to a popular dietician, “we are the food that we eat.”

A young college student once asked why people in ancient times lived longer than people in modern times.

My answer was a quick “probably because of the quality of food that they ate.”

Biblical figures lived up to 800 years.

Today, at 60, many of us are already “bog bog sarado” from different ailments and complications; and are frequent visitors to the doctor’s clinics if not confined in the hospitals.

By 70, some of us are wheelchair-bound.

Those lucky to reach 80 stay in bed until the trip to the kingdom come beckons.

Some foods give us diseases because they are contaminated by chemicals and preservatives.

To be healthy, according to health experts, our body needs fuel-foods, fats and carbohydrates (sugars starches) to provide energy; proteins, such as meat, to build new tissues for growth or to replace those worn out; calcium, in milk, for strong bones and teeth; and various minerals, including salt, that help the body to maintain its chemical balance and to carry on its functions.

 

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We learned that vitamins are not foods, but these “food-factors,” as they are called, are essential.

They help the body to make use of the food we eat, doctors say.

Vitamins already present in food are usually enough for a normal person if his diet is otherwise well-balanced, they add.

Every day we are advised to eat some foods from each of these groups:

(1) milk or milk products, including cheese—at least a pint of milk for an adult and more for a child;

(2) citrus fruits (oranges, grapefruit), tomatoes, or raw cabbage or salad greens—at least one;

(3) green or yellow vegetables, some raw, some cooked—at least one big serving;

(4) other vegetables or fruits, including potatoes;

(5) bread and cereals;

(6) meat, poultry or fish;

(7) eggs—three or four a week at least;

(8) butter or another vitamin-rich spread.

We will all die anyway, so it’s better to make an exit with grace.

 

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two dailies in Iloilo)