Undersecretary Ric Blancaflor of the Department of Justice wears four hats. He’s in charge of units, also called task forces (of one kind or another), whose job is to tilt at windmills, in particular those operated by terrorists, human traffickers, killers of media practitioners and activists, and syndicates kidnapping healthy young people for their desirable young organs.

Usec Ric might as well own four heads, considering what he has on his plate – or should that be four plates? Good thing he’s a lawyer who knows the law and can use it to DoJ’s advantage; good thing he has been vetted and found not wanting or in excess of his zeal to alter society, for once upon a time he was an ardent admirer of Gringo Honasan and his RAM, including all those several – nine? – coups against the Aquino government.

Older now though not necessarily mellower, the fire in his belly burns to catch the bastards who make life hard for people who are already hard up. Friends from long ago cheekily labeled him an ultrarightist, but now that he works for government, what do they call him but ewww? When he appeared at “Bulong Pulungan” at Sofitel last week, most of those present had never seen him or his hats before.

What he told us:
1. His team has solved six media killings, on an average
of 10 days per case, but how come the newspapers have not reported the good news?
2. In running after traffickers, the task force is stymied by a provision in the law that penalizes identification of the recruiter, whether foreigner or local;
3. The donation of human organs is allowed by a non-relative only after all immediate family members have been eliminated. However, “no alien may receive organs from Filipino living non-related donors.” In case both donor and donee are aliens, a certificate must be obtained from their embassy.

The Usec’s job is made doubly difficult by the incentives factor. Desperate people go to desperate means, which are usually unlawful.