Trust in Aguirre
Three reasons why Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre could not be trusted by President Duterte and the Filipino people in the “drug war” (we challenge him to address these issues and the opportunity to make reforms):
--He refuses to repeal the pro-druglord circular of former justice secretary Leila de Lima. The circular repealed the previous circular of Secretary Datumanung that says that respondents whose cases were dismissed by the city/ provincial prosecutors will remain in custody pending review. The de Lima circular orders the release of the respondent while the case is pending. This circular was used in the money making modus by the previous administration, Is the present administration using it too?
--High-level drug lords detained in the Bilibid continue to operate the illegal drug trade via remote control and are provided with lavish accommodation similar to the one during de Lima’s time.
--The dismissal rate of drug cases continue to rise, even reaching 90 percent (simply illustrated, that 8 to 9 out of the 10 arrested by the Philippine National Police and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency will go back to the streets to sell drugs and commit other crimes like rape, murder and robbery). Aguirre must be man enough to stop blaming the PNP and PDEA as cause of the dismissal. The Department of Justice (DOJ) is the law enforcers’ counsel, the success and failure is in its hands. Question, have you heard the Secretary talk of his programs/ plans on how to strengthen the government’s prosecution of drug cases?
Pray for our nation, we have an enemy from within.--Paul Clarence Oaminal
Pursuit of peace
March 16, 2018 marks the 20th anniversary of the hallmark Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL)— the first substantive agreement between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).
With this, peace advocates have joined together to affirm that respect for human rights and international humanitarian law in the Philippines is an essential building block for pursuing #JustPeace in our land.
At this time, when the Duterte administration appears focused on moves like pulling out of the International Criminal Court and declaring more-than-600 persons as terrorists under the Human Security Act, we urge President Duterte to instead focus the attention of his government on faithful adherence to the principles of human rights and international humanitarian law.
Fully implementing CARHRIHL—which aims to provide an effective mechanism for upholding, promoting and protecting human rights and international humanitarian law, thus providing additional protection for the people amid armed conflict—will go far in fostering positive energy for peace negotiations, if not propel both parties to resume the peace talks and continue their journey toward achieving #JustPeace.--Pilgrims for Peace