More than any external factor, the perceived return of crime syndicates to rule the streets has rekindled fear among Filipinos who had a brief mystical moment in the past to feel a sense of security.

The anarchic wave that Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Rommel Marbil lacks the character to control has started to seep into the social fabric. Ironically, it intensified after former President Rodrigo Duterte was whisked off to the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague.

The handover was a symbolic victory for the crime syndicates and drug lords whose lives Duterte made difficult. Their expensive campaign to crush the anti-crime leader paid off handsomely, and now it’s time to collect payback.

The brutal kidnapping and murder of Anson Que and his driver, Armanie Pabillo, laid bare the PNP’s festering wounds, which are its acquiescing to inefficiency and selective enforcement.

Organized crime is thus emboldened to tighten its grip on the nation. From the rank-and-file to the top, including Marbil, the PNP’s failures are scandalous and betray the public trust, allowing syndicates to operate with a swagger that mocks justice.

As kidnappings targeting businessmen surge, the responses are tentative measures, deflections in the media, and a troubling lack of conviction in pursuing the involvement of powerful forces.

Police units are admittedly underfunded as they always were and are thus outmaneuvered by the sophistication of criminal networks.

Add to that a PNP chief who once said in a television interview, “Remember not all drug users are addicts, or they want to be addicted. Many use drugs to extend their working hours.”

Also, this is the period when PNP statistics on crime incidence fail to tally with what’s happening on the streets as the law enforcement figures show a vastly improved situation. People are seeing violent crimes committed in their communities every day.

Que’s case, with its syndicate-style execution and suspected Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) link, was addressed facetiously by the swift sidelining of Brig. Gen. Elmer Ragay, head of the Anti-Kidnapping Group, which is a clear scapegoating over accountability.

Thus, the business sector is apprehensive. The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, alongside the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Inc., the Philippine Exporters Confederation, and 30 other community and civic organizations, issued a scathing joint public statement condemning the killings as “heinous” and “barbaric.”

They slammed the government’s “empty platitudes” and “bureaucratic inertia” in addressing rising organized crime.

PNP data shows arrests fizzling into releases, with masterminds slipping through. Que’s killers, despite “identified suspects,” remain at large, with Marbil’s tease of a “huge twist” sounding more like a ready dodge than a general’s resolve.

Escalating chaos pockmarks Marbil’s tenure. His vague promise of a crackdown rings hollow when the playbook remains to conduct raids for show and to hold pressers for optics, yielding little beyond headlines.

His silence on systemic corruption, especially amid insinuations of POGO influence in Que’s case, is deafening. Marbil’s acts suggest either cluelessness or complicity, neither of which is acceptable.

Anti-crime crusader Teresita Ang See, founding chair of the Movement for Restoration of Peace and Order, sharply rebuked the PNP for its suggestion that the Que tragedy was linked to POGO.

Ang See expressed frustration over what she perceives as a misdirected narrative that unfairly burdens the victims’ families and exposes systemic investigative failures.

There was “no basis at all” for connecting Que’s case to POGO activities, as she argued that the PNP’s speculation lacked evidence and showed ineptness by leaning on a convenient but unfounded angle.

She pointed out that Que’s family had no ties to POGO-related businesses or properties, noting that they owned no assets in Bulacan, a region associated with POGO operations.

According to Ang See, Que has a thriving steel manufacturing business that precluded his dabbling in POGO.

Under Marbil, the PNP had returned to a lethargic state, which has forced citizens to retreat behind closed doors and rely on prayers as the only defense against a resurgent crime wave.