Erap for death penalty

The issue of capital punishment continues to divide us people. There are those who believe that only meting the death sentence on persons committing heinous crimes (like rape and proven premeditated murder and drug-dealing and manufacturing and human trafficking) can perpetrators be discouraged from continuing their trade. I myself confess to favoring annihilation of drug traffickers and dealers on the ground that they destroy the lives and mental state, and future of their victims, particularly children. But there are the human rights advocates and the peacemakers who do not believe in the death penalty as a humane solution to criminality. Thus our justice system has abolished the death penalty.

Former President Joseph Estrada favors the death penalty. A statement prepared by his spokesperson announces he supports House moves to reimpose the death penalty against drug pushers and drug traffickers. He says, “Drugs corrupt the minds of our youth and destroy their future and the future of our country. We must condemn drug traffickers to the highest degree and be firm in our message that we will do all it takes to protect our youth and make this country drug free.”

Esrada says, “Kung ang ating mga kabataan ay mga nagdudurog, ang kinabukasan ng ating bansa ay magkaka-durug-durog din.”

“No less than the United Nations has identified the Philippines as fifth in the world in producing shabu,” Estrada says through his spokesperson, Margaux Salcedo. “And now there’s the report on the abduction and rape of an anti-drug agent’s daughter. Clearly the country’s ‘anti-drug czar’ has failed in addressing this problem. Stricter measures, not just lip service, are now necessary to stop drug production and trafficking in the country.”

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Secretary Jesus Dureza was quick to respond to Estrada’s and the congressmen’s move to reimpose the death penalty. A message texted to me quotes Dureza re heinous crimes and returning the death penalty. “Just catch the bastards, period! Reimposing the death penalty is not the answer. If we cannot even get the perpetrators, like bombers, rapists, human rights violators or executioners on board motorcycles, then reimposing the death penalty a hundred times will not help. Let’s all work on solving crimes and arresting those criminals and letting them pay for their acts. We have to address the long pestering issue of impunity. Poor law enforcement results in breakdown of law and order. Just solve those crimes!”

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The passing away of Luz Alabastro Einsiedel was cause for sadness among her numerous admirers and friends. She was a woman for all seasons — loving, generous, multi-talented, a lover of beauty, dance, and music. She left two sons, the famous urban planner and architect Nathaniel (widely known as “Dinky”), and Albert Jr. (called Mem). On my request, Dinky sent some details about his mother.

At the University of the Philippines, she was a member of the UP Folk Dance Troupe. It was also then that she met her future husband, now deceased Albert Einsiedel Sr., a tactical officer in the UP ROTC.

She graduated with a BS zoology degree, and was offered to teach physical education at the UP, and for many years, taught numerous students how to swim and she also coached the UP varsity volleyball team.

UP sent her for further studies in the United States — to the University of Minnesota for her master’s in sociology/social work, and to the University of Michigan for a master’s in community development.

Back at the UP, she worked for the establishment of a department for social work under the College of Arts and Sciences, and the Institute of Social Work and Community Development. During that time, she collaborated with Sen. Eva Estrada Kalaw in getting the bill passed that created the institute and provided funds for the construction of its own building.

While teaching, she actively lived what she was preaching, writes Luz’s son Dinky. She became president of the National YWCA and was responsible for having a building built that would provide housing for working women in downtown Manila. She was also active with such NGOs as the Community Chest, the Presidential Assistant for Community Development, the Family Planning Movement of the Philippines, and the Mental Health Association of the Philippines.

She was a passionate advocate of women leadership, and was involved with the Association of University Women, and in the setting up of YWCA chapters in different cities.

His mother, Dinky writes, championed volunteerism. When she retired from the UP and moved to the US, she got involved and was appointed assistant director of the Asian refugee relief center in San Jose, California, where she designed and administered the refugee assimilation program for Vietnamese and Cambodians.

When she and her husband transferred to Calgary, Canada, and lived in a senior citizens’ community, they organized the community’s recreation program which included the formation of a choir, weekly community dances, and bi-monthly outings to places of interest.

When Luz and Albert returned to the Philippines in 1998 after Albert suffered a stroke, they organized the Church of the Risen Lord senior citizens group, of which Luz served as its first president.

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At Luz’s memorial service held at the Church of the Risen Lord, former Secretary of Social Work and Development Cora de Leon spoke of Luz as mentor, constant companion, light giver, friend. Everyone who knew Luz, she said, “will agree that she prepared us to enjoy life at its fullest.”

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Mandy Navasero, a graduate of Books Institute, Santa Barbara, California, with a bachelor’s degree in professional photography, major in illustration and advertising, is launching a Saturday-weekly lecture on various fields of photography. Dates and subjects offered are digital camera operation and composition, August 1; creative portraiture with one source of studio light, August 8; fashion photography, August 15; architectural photography, August 22; food photography, August 29, and photojournalism with a lecture on newswriting on Sept. 5 and 12. Travel photography will also be offered. There will be a travel photography. Call Mandy for details, at 8991767 or 8963208 or 0915-2200104.

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My e-mail: [email protected]