WHEN a self-confessed assassin resurfaced during the recent senate hearing and claimed to be a former member of a hit squad called Lambada Boys that later became the Davao Death Squad (DDS), many were shocked and frantic.
The social media, which now become a channel where almost everyone from different walks of life can express their opinion, can attest to that.
All eyes were glued to television sets while others were monitoring the revelations of the self-confessed DDS member Edgar Matobato during the senate probe on extra-judicial killings in the President Rodrigo Duterte administration’s ongoing war on illegal drugs.
Even jeepney and taxi drivers plying the roads of Davao City were hooked to the radios installed in their vehicles while some stopped on business establishments that show the live telecast of the hearing just to have a glimpse of goings on.
It was as if the whole country stopped just to listen to the testimony of a single person, who at first appeared to be very credible but later became the laughing stock in various social media platforms due to some inconsistencies in his claims. These were reflected in several memes that dominated the social media during the hearing and even after that.
Many names in authority were dropped as one of the major characters linked to the alleged executions of criminals in the past during the hearing that left debris of reactions among the people.
Former Davao City Mayor Duterte, who is now the country’s President, was tagged by Motabato as the one who ordered him and the other DDS members to kill criminals and opponents.
But in the midst of this confusion and noise, where do we stand?
We shall stand for peace as it is the one that will lead as to sanity and then to truth.
As Merriam Webster defines, sanity is “the condition of being based on reason or good judgment.”
Reason and good judgment, these are the words that we need today especially with all the jaw-dropping testimonies that we heard and the different claims that we witnessed from the sides of those who are for or against the current administration. It is only fitting for us to be discerning, cautious, and evaluative in picking up any information that we see or hear and only then will we know what to believe.
rThe best reminder we could ponder on in the middle of this confusion is a line from Desiderata that says, “Go placidly amid the noise and haste and remember what peace there may be in silence.”