Ben Contreras IN my high school days, I came across a line, “We are the masters of our fate, the captains of our souls.” Indeed, when we choose the path to take in life, no one can dissuade us from doing so. Only when we come to terms with reality that the path we chose is wrong that we correct ourselves. It’s not even an assurance. The path we choose, the things we believe will define ourselves. Rightly and wrongly, how our beliefs and convictions affect us and our environment will determine the changes to adopt and adapt. “Marauders” is the latest movie I’ve seen. It’s about a bank heist orchestrated by the bank owner himself. It’s about good cops and bad cops. It’s also about putting aside the law to attain the greater good. There are a few lines in the script that attracted me. “Does doing thing the legal way really make it better?” Many choose to hate President Duterte as if he is not capable of doing anything good. Or perhaps, some would choose to see only his faults, even the most trivial. The President’s unorthodox way of fighting drugs, for example, is drawing flak not just from haters but perhaps, also from well-meaning people. The good cop in the movie leads by the book. In the end, he realized that “doing things the legal way” may not be making things better. “I’ll go to hell so someone else could go to heaven.” In the end, the banker brought his loot or people’s money to Mexico beyond the reach of American law. But the good cop and another FBI agent who is also in pursuit of the banker followed the banker in Mexico. They accidentally met in an open café where the banker was having drinks. The FBI agent wanted the banker’s life but the good cop wouldn’t let him. “I trusted you once and I am going to trust you again. Don’t disappoint me,” he said to the FBI agent. And he said, “I am going to hell so someone could go to heaven.” The good cop, bringing with him two empty glasses and a bottle of liquor approached the banker who was still taunting the former for his lousy suits. In a matter of minutes, the good cop stabbed the banker to death. Yes, he went to hell to bring the banker to heaven. The good cop once said, “They’re intriguing, but I’m not about to start justifying murder and theft as a means to fight public corruption.” Sometimes, somehow, we need to bend the law to achieve a greater goal that is best for the majority. It may not be the right thing to do and we need not wish something bad to happen to anyone. But certainly many of us have seen how victims were raped and killed and how their loved ones reacted with violence and convulsion. Imagine yourself in that situation, what would you have done? Don’t stop with what you’re doing if that makes you happy. Criticize if that makes you feel better. But even a dead deserves something good to tell. What more for a living. Here comes a President willing to put his life at risk in fighting drugs and staking his credibility in curbing corruption. It’s either we help or we go back to the time before his presidency. The choice is really yours and mine..