Amid the spate of horrendous killings taking place in our much-loved country, the weekend brought in another devastating news: Mayor Rolando Espinosa of Albuera, Leyte, who in August, surrendered after being publicly linked to the drug trade, and subsequently charged, was shot and died in the confines of his jail space by members of the state agency, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Eastern Visayas.
Senator Panfilo Lacson minced no words in tagging it as “an extrajudicial killing”, and referred to the police account of his death as “a bad script”. (Philippine Daily Inquirer, November 5, 2016)
The outraged human rights lawyer, Edre Olalia, president of the National Union of People’s Lawyers, called the police account “unbelievable” and “too contrived.”
https://www.interaksyon.com/article/134001/espinosa-killing-incredibly-brazen—rights-lawyer.
Olalia even noted that “A search warrant in a government prison facility is unnecessary and appears to be a flaccid attempt to make the apparent rubout ‘legal’,” and called the acts “a mockery of the law, taunt impunity and insult ordinary common sense.”
We will not be surprised if the grieving family members of the slain mayor call it a downright execution. How could the mayor resist an arrest and be in possession of a gun when he was a detention prisoner, and completely at the mercy of the state authorities?
We are alarmed at the specter of the members of institutions acting as if we do not have the laws, systems and procedures in place to protect the rights of citizens, more so a detention prisoner, and be held accountable. Our collective quest for justice will not be satisfied by a mere police statement. Credible investigations by the relevant authorities are required at this time, if this government, as
duty-holder, is to restore its already tarnished credibility.
Citizens, private sector and non-government organizations, especially the Integrated Bar of the Philippines and the Philippine Bar Association, must not cower in indifference and should be visibly engaged in calling the attention of the government to respect the Rule of Law and human rights in the Philippines. Let those who committed the dastardly acts be held accountable, following our legal process.
We are in a time of terrible turmoil and we cannot afford to look the other way and remain apathetic in seeing the downward spiral of our cherished democratic way of life. We have fought hard to restore the political and civil liberties that we lost during the Marcos dictatorship. Never again should we allow our institutions to be used as appendages of personalities to satisfy private interests.
Government exists to perform the duty of protecting and serving the citizenry, we should never forget that.
Violations of human rights undermine development, and that necessarily includes human development. Our country, facing so many challenges, be it poverty, inequity, environment, and climate change, cannot afford to be enmeshed in a war pitting one Filipinos against another, and allow a culture of impunity and entitlement to flourish.
Filipinos are admired as patient, enduring and many abhor confrontation. Even if inwardly, we are suffering, we can still manage to smile even in the most trying of natural calamities and disasters, that are mostly man-made. Thus, abuses and non-accountability happen.
Each of us is entitled to a life of honor and dignity, and we have to believe that and assert our rights. Abuse of our individual rights must no longer be tolerated.
If we are to deliver a future that the present and next generations deserve, we have to ensure that the Rule of Law prevails. It is never enough that laws are enacted to protect us, our rights and our environment . Public officers must perform their duty and implement the mandates of their office. The power and the duty must co-exist.
At the same time, citizens must avail of the right and the responsibility to participate in decision-making at all levels, whether social, economic or political. Such is the privilege given to us by our Constitution and the implementing laws. Alas, not a few fail to exercise such right. Voting is just a facet of the whole spectrum of responsibilities that we have to take on for our country.
If laws are not implemented, then our rights are not protected. But, we don’t stop and forever blame those in dereliction of their duties. A whole plethora of legal remedies are available for us to choose from to make our laws real and alive. The challenge lies now in our citizens to perform.
Thankfully, there are many citizen leaders in our midst who are willing to take on the cudgels and work on issues bigger than any of us. They are the bearers of hope which the late Desmond Tutu defines as “being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” These leaders are the embodiments of courage which, for Michelle Obama, “can be contagious and hope can take on a life of its own.”
Yes, amid the turmoil, there is light, and there always will be at the end of the tunnel.