The Edsa option

APALISOK

People opposed to extrajudicial killings seem to have had it with the murderous anti-illegal drugs war waged by the Philippine National Police after Caloocan City law enforcers killed a 17-year-old grade 11 student in a raid against suspected drug dealers, pushers and runners in the city slums last Wednesday.

The special police operations dubbed as “One-Time, Big-Time” is being waged not only in Caloocan but in many parts of Metro Manila including Malolos, Navotas and Valenzuela City where, reports say, dozens of people died in similar circumstances that wrote finis to the life of Kian Loyd delos Santos.

The killings prompted church leaders, political groups from both sides of the political spectrum, nongovernment organizations and even the Department of Education to condemn the killings, and call for an impartial probe in the death of Kian.

As we know, Caloocan City police defended their actions by presenting rather belatedly an asset who alleged that Kian was a drug runner who did errands for his father and uncle, a charge that was met with a chorus of outraged protests from Kian’s relatives, neighbors and classmates.

In the aftermath of the bloodbath and chaos, Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle urged Filipinos to reflect, pray and act. Cardinal Tagle favors the ongoing anti-drug campaign but rejects killings as a strategy to solve the problem.

In a pastoral letter, he urged authorities not to consider the drug menace as a criminal and political issue but as a humanitarian concern that affects all of us.

People who had wanted a more confrontational style that mimicked the response of the late Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin during the Edsa People Power Revolt 34 years ago were naturally dismayed by Tagle’s stance because for them it is anemic if not cowardly.

The time for dialogues, summits, prayers and fasting is past, we’ve been there and done that, I heard a radio commentator summing up the public sentiment.

But that would be a superficial take on Tagle’s stance because at the very least, he is calling for sobriety to make way for a clearer assessment of the problem from different perspectives, and hopefully come up with collaborative solutions.

As in Edsa 34 years ago, we are invited once again to opt for nonviolence and allow God’s grace to work through our human undertakings.

The temptation for the church to call for the resignation, at the very least, of PNP Chief Ronald dela Rosa and the whole Caloocan City police would have been a logical step, but that is the duty of the civil government.

Meanwhile, Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Lingayen, Dagupan, rebuked people who blamed defenseless victims and praised officials who kill them. Villegas lamented the “new normal” and how Filipinos have grown inured to the sound of guns and the gushing of blood in the streets.

In memory of those killed in the drug war, Villegas ordered starting today the ringing of the bells for 15 minutes when the clock strikes eight in the evening throughout Northern Luzon. The pealing of the bells every evening at eight for 15 minutes will continue until November 27.

It’s easy to dismiss this as a useless intervention but in the history of the church the ringing of the bells is actually “a call to wake up, pray, work, to arms, to feast, and in times of crisis, to come together.”

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Congratulations are in order for Surrender to God (SuGod), the holistic drug rehabilitation program which marked its first anniversary this week with a fellowship among recovering drug addicts in the presence of Cebu Archbishop Jose S. Palma in the Love of God Center in Liloan, Cebu.

SuGod is becoming the template for spiritual renewal and drug rehabilitation because it integrates the Catholic life in the spirit seminar LSS with the 12-step Narcotics Anonymous plan accepted worldwide.

The LSS component is handled by the Catholic Love of God Community, while the NA plan is under the direction of Rene Francisco, an expert in drug and alcohol addiction recovery with more than 20 years of experience.

In a span of one year, SuGod has conducted nine programs and helped more than 400 “respondents” coming from different towns and cities.

The logistical requirement is quite hefty, the work demanding and draining, but SuGod Executive Director Fe Barino appeared upbeat and happy during the appreciation lunch she tendered for the local media last Saturday.

I guess Fe and fellow workers have also surrendered to God the work they’re doing for the victims of the drug menace especially those coming from the margins of society.

Cheers!