Questionable acts have been made on ‘humanitarian grounds’
BROTHERS and sisters, because of their violation of the ordinance prohibiting protests while the general community quarantine is still being implemented in Metro Manila, six jeepney drivers were apprehended by the police in Caloocan. This occurred two weeks ago, in the first days of the implementation of the GCQ in Metro Manila where some modes of public transportation were allowed to operate, but not the jeepneys. The six members of the transport Group Piston (Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at operator nationwide) were calling for the government to allow jeepneys to operate. And since they refused to stop their small movement, the police took them to the precinct.
Those apprehended include 72-year-old Elmer Cordero. However, he was not part of the first group released after their five-day arrest, after they posted bail of P3,000. It was discovered in court that Elmer had a pending case of estafa, but he insisted that he never was charged before, and the accused may just be his namesake. When Elmer saw the status of the prison cell he was held in, he asked the police to just tie him in a tree instead. He was scared of being infected while inside the overcrowded cell. But he remained inside the cell for a week until some goodhearted people pooled funds to pay for his bail in the estafa case that was still unverified by the court whether or not Elmer was truly the one accused.
In his first day of arrest, the calls to free Elmer on “humanitarian grounds” poured in. Was it not on humanitarian grounds that the police gave as reason for not arresting a lawmaker charged with multiple cases of graft? Even the chief of the PNP said they considered the age and health of the 89-year-old former first lady in not arresting her. It was also on humanitarian grounds that the Supreme Court allowed a former senator considered as the architect of martial law during the Marcos regime to post bail amounting to 1 million pesos in a case of plunder. It may be recalled that this senator is one of the many lawmakers allegedly involved in the pork barrel scam. When the senator was allowed to post bail, he was 91 years old.
These people mentioned never experienced being behind bars for even one day despite stealing billions from the nation’s coffers. While it took poor Mr. Cordero one week before being freed from prison because he had the courage to amplify the voice of 500 million jeepney drivers who lost their livelihoods because of the lockdown. Truly, many questionable acts have been made on “humanitarian grounds.”
In the social teachings of the Church, it was emphasized that the government with authority must enforce equal and fair laws; laws that uphold the dignity of man. But if those who implement our laws have their own prejudices, can we say that they are capable of uplifting human dignity? Can we be sure that their implementation of laws will be fair and just?
Brothers and sisters, we are warned in the book of Isaiah 10:12, “Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless.” In our case, it is saddening that the law is not used to protect and care for the weak and powerless.
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