Last Monday, a funeral service was held for Jeffrey Diaz, also known as "Jaguar", and the "number one" drug dealer of Central Visayas. He was killed in a shootout with police on June 17. It's pretty much accepted that he was going to surrender but was rubbed out so he wouldn't give away the crooked politicians and police that protected him. Of course, everything about this is shrouded in mystery. Just swallow the official story line of "drug lord gets killed and deserved it" and try not to think too deeply on the matter or its implications.
Was there celebration? Well, people weren't jumping for joy on the streets and handing out candy or anything. I doubt the average Juan ever even heard of Jeffrey. Just another corpse. Perhaps common people have the decency not to show their happiness, unlike Mayor Tomas who couldn't help but gloat and brag about handing out generous reward money to the police who shot the guy.
Anyway, an estimated two thousand and five hundred people attended Jeffrey's funeral procession. Some of them were even wearing shirts with Jeffrey's name and face on it. There's official Jeffrey "Jaguar" Diaz merch apparently.
How could so many people come out in support of someone who everyone says is a drug lord? You'd think that the election of Duterte meant people hated these guys. When asked, the attendees would invariably describe Jeffrey as "kind". He was mabait. Jeffrey would hand out Christmas gifts and stuff. He'd give away a few kilos of rice here and there. Who knew people's souls were so cheap?
I've heard the Jaguar being called a modern day "Robin Hood". That doesn't sit well with me. Robin Hood robbed the rich to give to the poor. I don't recall the story being Robin Hood getting rich from giving meth to the poor. Heh, is this what "giving back to the community" means? It's like some macabre fairy tale. A man selling drugs to the poor and using the profits to keep the poor alive to buy more drugs.
The more I think about it, Jeffrey really was no different than your average politician. That's how it goes here; just give the poor free shit and they'll sell themselves to you. The mentality is also similar to those who support vigilante killings. Who cares about the means as long as it accomplishes a "noble" end? Who cares where the food comes from as long as we get it.
The same sickness runs through everything, it seems.
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