With the end of Holy Week, the first controversy that greets Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was her decision to commute death sentences to life imprisonment for about 1,200 death row inmates. The President has that prerogative. Some groups concerned with the national peace and order situation were reportedly shocked at the President’s decision. They say that it was tantamount to abolishing the death penalty.
The best approach to the problem is to elevate the question to Congress. Does Congress want to retain or abolish the death penalty?
But the real change that happened during Holy Week was the exodus of millions of people who wanted to spend the Holy Week in the churches where they were baptized in their respective barrios, towns and cities. Last November, there was a similar exodus as people returned to their respective provinces to be able to visit their dearly departed in different cemeteries. Again thanks to the Philippine National Police, there were no terroristic activities anywhere.
We hope that peace prevails long after Holy Week. We really cannot see how terrorism can solve any of our country’s problem. Our first goals, therefore, should be peace, order and justice. Compared to other parts of the world, the Philippines has had very isolated cases of terrorism. In France, terrorists are bombing cars for no reason whatsoever. We have had a few bombing incidents, but they have been truly isolated cases. Again, we say that this is largely because our law enforcers are always on a state of alert. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
We are very fortunate that for sometime now, we have been spared of major national disasters. Our major cities have no bad typhoons. Imagine if something like Hurricane Katrina would hit Metro Manila, Cebu or Davao. We have also been spared of disastrous earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. True we have had a bad landslide in Leyte, but that was relatively a small disaster and what was heartening is the way the whole nation responded to help alleviate the plight of the victims. What we must do is to do our best to alleviate poverty, meaning create jobs and homes for the homeless. That is being done, but we can do much more.