EJK: Where the real blame lies

Self-styled running priest Fr. Robert Reyes sat lengthily at the Senate last Monday to say his piece about extrajudicial killings in the country. The Senate is conducting a hearing into the suspicious deaths of three young men in the hands of the police in the course of the government's aggressive war on illegal drugs. Reyes said illegal drugs is a health issue and should be treated accordingly. He objects to government seeing it as a law enforcement problem.

Actually, the inputs of Reyes at the Senate hearing were a rehash of previous observations made by likeminded people in a variety of forums. But because Reyes is a priest, great effort had to be made to accommodate his views even if they have been made repeatedly by others already. Besides, every view in this great debate on extrajudicial killings has to be respected, particularly because of the sensitivity of the issue.

I agree with Reyes that there could be instances wherein the police may have gone overboard in the conduct of anti-illegal drug operations. I submit that some police may have become overzealous in the performance of what they think is their duty. I would even concede that some may have misinterpreted the instructions of the president in his order for the police to crack down hard on the drug menace.

Here is what I do not agree with. The president never said kill. He said kill if there is violent resistance and if the lives of law enforcers are endangered. I do not agree that there is hardly any violent resistance and that the police are just ticking off, picking up, and gunning down suspects. Everybody is aware that there are millions of loose firearms out there. These guns are out there for a purpose.

I also do not agree that the protestations of innocence of every parent, relative or friend of a victim are to be swallowed hook, line and sinker just because they came from a parent, relative or friend. These protestations of innocence, sorry to say, are necessarily tainted pieces of testimonial evidence. They need to be taken with a grain of salt.

But the thing I do not agree with the most from Reyes is what he said about the president being fond of giving what can be interpreted as kill orders and of the police being enthusiastically prone to carrying out the presidential orders. I completely disagree because this is precisely the point in the argument of Reyes that he sweeps under the rug the real reason why there is any extrajudicial killing at all.

Reyes is trying to pin the blame on the president when the fact is, the problem is rooted in the failure of priests like Reyes to rein in the flock and keep them from straying. Let me put it this way: No matter how forcefully President Duterte may order his policemen to kill all drug suspects, if these policemen have it in their hearts to fear God, they would refuse to kill. They would rather resign and find other jobs than disobey the word of God that Reyes is supposed to teach them.

But policemen who kill no longer fear God. Who they kill, guilty or innocent, is immaterial. So the real question to ask is why people, and not just policemen, no longer fear God? And the truth, quite sadly, is that Reyes and others like him have failed in their mission to make people fear God enough to avoid sinning. Each time a crime, any crime, is committed is a reflection of the failure of Reyes et al to teach people to do right and avoid doing wrong.