No peace without justice

The deplorable incidents of violence and criminal acts involving the very officers and members of the PNP barely seven days into the New Year definitely do not bode well for a peaceful and orderly year ahead. People will really be alarmed and scared when the law enforcers themselves are the ones violating the law. These incidents should serve as a wake-up call for P-Noy to look into the set-up in the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) where Undersecretary Puno who is reputedly his close friend, and not Secretary Robredo himself, has direct authority and responsibility over the PNP.

As proven by the hostage taking incident last August 23, 2010, this kind of arrangement has sown confusion as to who is really in charge of dealing with the crisis. Obviously if the men at the frontline knew who was directly calling the shots, the handling of the incident would have been better coordinated and might have ended with less number of lives lost or none at all.

If several officials share power and authority, no one will accept full responsibility should something wrong happen. This is illustrated by the hostage taking incident where despite the recommendation of the Incident Investigation Review Committee (IIRC) to take disciplinary action against Puno as the responsible official, both Puno and Robredo disowned responsibility and are still in the saddle. In other countries where powers and responsibilities are clearly delineated, the official concerned would have irrevocably resigned. Sometimes they would even commit hara kiri.

P-Noy presumably knows, or should know that without Justice there can be no Peace in our society, which is necessary for the achievement of economic progress and prosperity. Justice here means not only social but also criminal justice.

As Fr. Guido Arguelles says, the peace brought about by social justice is the “peace that addresses the whole person, it is a holistic act, not a moment but an atmosphere of …well being. It is not Caesar’s Pax Romana imposed on the conquered. It is Pax Divina offered to all persons of goodwill; to all who believe and live in (Christ’s) name. It is a peace with a minimum security — from hunger-from lack of education-from homelessness-from lack of job-from a variety of external threats”. There is no social justice and therefore no peace “when farmers and laborers are paid slave wages; when money for infrastructures etc. are pocketed by the greedy and murderously (to steal is to kill) corrupt; when political and economic power are consolidated in the hands of a few; when there is a sad lack of compassion and understanding (except imagined ones) in the hearts of our so called leaders who seem to have a penchant to lead not to salvation but to national perdition; when we already denude and continue to denude our forest”.

The criminal justice on the other hand necessary for peace in our society refers to the enforcement of the law and maintenance of order. It is here that the DILG plays a major role through the PNP that is under its direct control and supervision. Although all the branches of government have roles to play in this task as in the attainment of social justice, the DILG is the primary agency charged with the prevention of crimes or at least minimizing their occurrence; with the assistance and cooperation likewise, of the private sector.

Noteworthy in this regard is that most of the crimes currently happening are committed with the use of guns and firearms. Obviously, the best way to curb these crimes is to control the ownership and possession of firearms within those charged with the maintenance of peace and order so that we can eventually have a gun-less and therefore, peaceful, society. To be sure, the private sector is not sitting idly in helping achieve this end.

A group of concerned citizens called Tagatulak ng Kapayapaan led by the foremost advocate of a gun-less society, Nandy Pacheco has in fact already initiated moves to achieve this purpose. But the recent spate of crimes committed by those charged with maintenance of peace and order themselves has apparently set back this move. In this connection let me share with you the following letter from E.J.T. Tirona, the former president of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in reaction to my Phil. STAR article last Monday, (“Peace Movers”) which is very relevant to the current happenings: 

“Thank you for your column today. Yes Nandy has been in this advocacy for decades but, sadly, his call seems to be falling on deaf ears especially of those in government institutions, the three branches of our government, who really can do something to enforce and institutionalize a “gun-less society”. The ownership of guns has long been a status symbol for those who can afford to legally acquire one. Some have flaunted this privilege as if to show that they are “more equal” than the ordinary gun-less mortal. However, we have heard of countless incidents where the very possession of firearms triggers violence.

How many more deaths and serious injuries from either road rage, sudden burst of hatred or bravado or even accidental firing due to mishandling of firearms shall innocent victims suffer? It is said that a firearm serves as the “equalizer” when confronted by bad elements or gives one a sense of security. That is the reason why Nandy’s dream of a “gunless society” will remain a dream.

It has been said that we have enough laws to deter abuse of firearms ownership. Moreover, we have strict laws on illegal possession of firearms which have been the cause of most crimes with the use of guns. It is clear therefore that weak or inefficient law enforcement is the main reason why many legal gun owners abuse the privilege and the illegal ones remain free to roam around to commit crimes with it.

Don’t we have enough NGOs that will take up the cudgels to urge our law enforcers to implement the laws against loose firearms and the abuse of the privilege accorded by law? Can we still count on our legislators to initiate tougher measures knowing that use of firearms seem to go with political power? What can we expect from P-Noy who is said to be a shooting buff himself?”

Fortunately, P-Noy’s government still has plenty of time. All they have to do is to listen to these valid observations and do something about them.

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