Tommy’s lead

Malou Apalisok

A few days after the alleged failed ambush of former Tejero Barangay captain and now village councilor Jessielou Cadungog by a local cop, I expected radio broadcasters to still chew on the same subject but DYAB’s morning program hosted by Leo Lastimosa veered from the topic. Instead, the program had the chairman of the Archdiocesan Commission on the Laity, Fe Barino giving updates on “Salamat Padre,” a program conceptualized by the COL aimed to honor and affirm priests for their hard work and dedication in bringing people to God. The culminating activity was held last Sunday August 5, feast day of the patron of parish priests, St. John Mary Vianney.

Fe was only too happy to gain media mileage for “Salamat Padre” but in the course of the interview, she gave out an astonishing view of the power of the lay which she described as a “sleeping giant”. I believe she heard it from a Church official who was floored by the overwhelming response of the lay in Cebu over a number of religious activities that saw them going out in the streets in tens or even hundreds of thousands to show their support for Church programs.

Fe is executive director of the community-based drug rehabilitation and recovery program called “SuGod”. Launched at the height of the anti-drugs war in August 2016 when extra-judicial killings related to illegal drugs became widespread, SuGod is all set to celebrate another milestone this month. For bringing hope to some 500 recovering drug addicts, this corner would like to commend Fe and her hardworking partners like Rene Francisco.

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The Roman Catholic Church is composed of over 1 billion members worldwide. The Philippines remains a bastion of Catholicism, with more than 86 per cent of the population belonging to the Church. The laity or lay persons are those who are neither priests nor nuns but ordinary members.

Reacting to Fe’s comment, Leo mentioned that the lay as sleeping giant was validated by the grand Marian procession in October last year when an estimated 20,000 joined the dawn procession. The biggest show of force by the lay in Cebu happened during the International Eucharistic Congress in January 2016 when some 100,000 to 200,000 people joined a similar activity that capped the international event.

I write this column in the midst of a growing conflict between Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmena on the one hand and Police Regional Office 7 under Chief Superintendent Debold Sinas and his subordinate in the Cebu City Police Office, Senior Superintendent Royina Garma on the other.

The local PNP and the mayor are in disagreement because in Tommy’s view, the police is trying to mislead the public by portraying Jessielou Cadungog and his driver as murderers and the alleged assailant, PO3 Eugene Calumba as victim. The PRO 7 gave Calumba official honors before his burial last week.

Tommy’s comments are shared by netizens in social media because the spate of killings over the past six months appears to have a pattern: perpetrated by persons riding in tandem and wearing ski masks. Since law enforcers failed to solve many of these cases for lack of witnesses according to them, Tommy is inclined to believe that vigilantes are on the loose and even more terrifying, enjoy police protection.

By bringing these issues to light, Mayor Tommy is simply asking the police to account for its performance because 112 killings over a period of 6 months are no longer normal. It has created a culture of impunity and a climate of fear. In response, CCPO chief Garma challenged Mayor Tommy to present proofs that police elements are involved in extra judicial killings.

The police cannot escape responsibility by engaging in a tit for tat with the city mayor. He has a responsibility to uphold the peace in this part of the land. By calling the police to look into the possibility of vigilante killings, he is simply pointing out a lead for authorities to follow unless they don’t want to look in this direction. Why should the mayor’s comments be a cause for disagreement when the common goal is to solve the growing number of unsolved killings?

I prefaced the power of the lay in this article because a concerted effort is needed to address this terrible situation. The lay can be tapped as prayer warriors or mobilized for the critical cause of finding a solution to the wave of violence.

Last Saturday, I had the privilege of attending the 23rd anniversary of the Oasis of Love Cebu in SM Seaside. To cap the daylong celebration, Nonito “Tatay Dodong” Limchua led the 800 or so members in prayer asking God to stop the killings and “to heal our land”.