Cardinal Tagle: Act together on drug issue
By Kristine Joy V. Patag
Reporter
MANILA ARCHBISHOP Luis Cardinal Antonio Tagle on Sunday, Aug. 20, urged a “multi-sectoral dialogue” on the drug problem, amid controversy over the Duterte government’s drug war following the murder Thursday night of an adolescent in what appeared to be a police rubout.
Also yesterday, Vice-President Maria Leonor G. Robredo paid a visit to the wake of slain 17-year-old student Kian Lloyd delos Santos, whose death has become a rallying point against the government’s intensified war against illegal drugs.
‘SOLIDARITY WITHOUT TEARS’
In a letter addressed to the Filipino Catholics and scheduled to be read on yesterday’s masses, Mr. Tagle said: “The illegal drug problem should not be reduced to a political or criminal issue. It is a humanitarian concern that affects all of us.”
He added: “Words of solidarity without tears and acts of compassion are cheap.”
“First, all Filipinos agree that the menace of illegal drugs is real and destructive. We must face and act upon together, as one people. Unfortunately, it has divided us. Given the complexity of the issues, no single individual, group or institution could claim to have the only right response. We need one another. We cannot disregard each other,” the Archbishop’s letter also read.
He added: “We knock on the consciences of those who kill even the helpless, especially those who cover their faces with bonnets, to stop wasting human lives.”
In what has turned out to be the bloodiest week in President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s campaign against illegal drugs, the killing of Mr. Delos Santos sparked widespread condemnation and has even prompted known supporters of Mr. Duterte in Congress to express their outrage.
Authorities claimed the Grade 11 student fired back at them, prompting them to retaliate. But a recorded closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage showed the student being dragged by cops, and witnesses recounted him pleading for his life and even mentioning at the point of death a scheduled class exam he had to take the next day.
The Archbishop had earlier criticized the illegal drug trade in March, saying it can “destroy my neighbor.”
On Maundy Thursday, April 13, he made the gesture of washing the feet of people who were affected by the drug war.
In his letter read on yesterday’s masses, he proposed a multi-sectoral dialogue to be hosted by the Archdiocese of Manila and called for parishes under the Archdiocese of Manila to “mark the nine days from Aug. 21 (Memorial of St. Pope Pius X) to Aug. 29 (Beheading of St. John the Baptist) as time to offer prayers at all masses for the repose of those who have died in this war, for the strength of their families, for the perseverance of those recovering from addiction and the conversion of killers.”
‘POLITICAL ENDS’
For political analyst Edmund S. Tayao, Mr. Tagle’s call for the faithful is to “be objective in approaching the issue.”
In a phone call, he explained that “while clearly, there is a flaw in the campaign against drug, (in) how the government handled it, we can’t deny that it is also being used for political ends of the other group.”
He also said: “Clearly the government has lapses, at kailangan talagang tingnan seriously ng gobyerno kung anong mangyayari dito para (the government has to seriously look into this so) you know it’s not just the government will simply turn a blind eye, at the same time it should not be used as you know, political mileage.”
For his part, Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop and Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) President Socrates B. Villegas has ordered the tolling of church bells nightly for three months in honor of Mr. Delos Santos.
The Archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan ordered the ringing of the bells for 15 minutes from 8:00 p.m. nightly from Aug. 22 to Nov. 27, for those who are “numb and blind” to be awakened.
“Ang bagting ng kampana ay tawag ng paggising sa bayang hindi na marunong makiramay sa ulila, nakalimutan nang makiramay, at duwag na magalit sa kasamaan. Ang tunog ng kampana ay tawag na ihinto ang pagsang-ayon sa patayan,” Archbishop Villegas said.
(The tolling of the bell is a call to rouse a nation that no longer condoles with the bereaved, that has forgotten to empathize, and has grown afraid to rage against evil. The sound of the bell is a call to stop the support for the killings.)
“Pumapalakpak ang kababayan at sumisigaw nang may ngiti, ‘Dapat lang!’ habang binibilang ang bangkay sa dilim, habang bumabaybay sa kaliwa’t kanang lamay sa patay,” he added.
(Our countrymen are applauding and cheering with glee, ‘Serves them right!’ while corpses are tallied in the dark, while one commiserates left and right.)
‘NOW IT HAS A FACE’
Ms. Robredo, for her part, went straight to the vigil in Caloocan early morning of Sunday from her flight from Naga, her office said in a statement.
In her weekly radio program aired Sunday morning on RMN radio, she expressed grief and sympathy for the death of Mr. Delos Santos, who, she said, is of the same age as her youngest daughter.
Ms. Robredo called for an “independent” investigation on Mr. Delos Santos’s death.
“[I]yong atin lang ninanais. Sana magkaroon naman ng independent na imbestigasyon, kasi lalong…alam mo iyon? Kapag hindi kampante iyong magulang sa klase ng imbestigasyon, hindi nabibigyan ng parang closure iyong kaso, at baka patuloy na nangyayari iyong ganitong nangyari kay Kian,” Ms. Robredo said.
(That’s what we wish for. We hope there will be an independent investigation, because all the more…you know that? If the parents are not confident about the conduct of the investigation, as if the case will not be given closure, what happened to Mr. Delos Santos may continue.)
“Nakakalungkot ito. Ngayon, may mukha ito, itong si Kian. Parang sumasagi sa isip natin, ilan na ba iyong Kian na dumaan. Ilan pa ba iyong Kian na mangyayari?” Ms. Robredo also said.(This is saddening. Now it has face, it’s Kian. This makes us think and ask how many have suffered the fate similar to that of Kian. How many more Kians would there be?)
“Kaya tayo naman, kapag ganito, tingin ko obligasyon natin ipahayag iyong ating pagkamuhi sa ganitong klaseng pangyayari,” she added. (That’s why if it’s like this, I think it’s our obligation to express our hate of this kind of incident.)
Besides Ms. Robredo, Akbayan Senator Ana Theresia Hontiveros-Baraquel also went to the vigil for Mr. Delos Santos a day earlier. On Sunday, she said her office had taken custody of witnesses in Mr. Delos Santos’s murder.
“The protection provided to the family will be extended to the key witnesses who will help in bringing to justice the perpetrators of the extrajudicial killing of Kian Lloyd delos Santos,” Ms. Hontiveros said.
For his part, Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon has urged Justice Secretary Vitaliano N. Aguirre II to relieve Caloocan City Prosecutor Darwin Cañete after news reports quoted him as expressing doubts on Mr. Delos Santos’s innocence.
“Secretary Aguirre publicly said that he has ordered the NBI to probe into the death of Delos Santos and file the appropriate charges against those responsible. This would be nothing but lip service if he, in his capacity as Justice Secretary, does not properly respond to Cañete’s public pronouncements,” Mr. Drilon said.
SENATE CAUCUS
Meanwhile, on Sunday night, the Senate majority held a caucus upon the request of Senate President Aquilino Martin L. Pimentel III.
Senate resolution had been prepared for Sunday’s caucus to tackle as of press time. Senator Joel Villanueva, when sought for comment, said the resolution expresses “condemnation against the recent spate of abuses by the police resulting in excessive and unnecessary deaths in the conduct of the campaign against illegal drugs.”
“The PNP Internal Affairs Service (IAS) has moved sluggishly in investigating cases and has found mitigating circumstances even where not seemingly justified,” noted the draft sent by Mr. Villanueva.
Furthermore, it will direct “the appropriate Senate committee to inquire and review the conduct of anti-drug operations by the PNP as well as capacitating the PNP as an institution, to hold erring officials within their ranks liable for the commission of any crime or offense.”
There were also proposed amendments to R.A. No. 8551 otherwise known as the Philippine National Police Reform and Reorganization Act of 1998. “The IAS shall investigate, on its own or upon complaint, all police operations which result in deaths, physical injuries, alleged human rights and rules of engagement violations, within five days from the time of the incident…” Mr. Villanueva said.
For his part, Senator Antonio F. Trillanes IV has called for a caucus by the entire body this Tuesday, when the Senate is also expected to open a new inquiry on the drug war. — with reports by Mario M. Banzon and interaksyon.com
