Despite several news stories related to abduction and murder grabbing headlines in recent weeks, I believe that our criminal justice system under the current administration is functioning well.

Detractors insinuate that criminal elements have run rampant within two months of the Marcos presidency. For the same period, they allege that the volume of index crimes is higher compared to the previous administration.

I do not have the official data from the Philippine National Police. But I can assure everyone that President Marcos, like President Duterte, has the highest respect for the law and has "zero tolerance" for criminality.

Rather than being preoccupied with statistics, we should focus our energy on strengthening the pillars of our criminal justice system through engaged citizenship. The proper and expeditious implementation of the law is the ultimate deterrent to crime. Every Filipino plays a crucial role in upholding and protecting their constitutional right to life. By coordinating closely with government authorities and law enforcers to resolve crimes, we continue to strike fear into the hearts of these lawless elements. Likewise, swift justice can be served to the heinous crime victims.

Case No. 1: Kidnapped Filipino -Chinese victims

Take for instance the two kidnapping-for-ransom with murder cases that I am now handling as a private prosecutor. The first case involves two Filipino-Chinese individuals abducted in front of their house in Manila last June. Initially, the kidnappers demanded P100 million ransom, while they held the victims captive for 10 days. Later on, the kidnap gang agreed to an P8 million ransom. They constantly threatened to kill the abductees and their relatives. They also threatened to publicly disclose the alleged criminal records of the parents of a victim.

When the victims' families asked for my help, I immediately advised them to ignore the ransom demand and report the crime to the police. They risk themselves being victimized again should they settle with the abductors. It is the modus operandi of these kidnap gangs. I also told them to bring this matter to the court of law, so that the culprits would get their just punishment.