Majesty of the law
The IBP Pampanga Chapter has lined up a series of activities in celebration of National Law Week starting this September 25 to 30 with the theme: Majesty of the Law. It is significant that this focus on the supremacy of law occurs at a time when the nation remembers in disdain the imposition of Martial Rule in September 21, 1972. For still fresh in memory are the incarceration, killings and disappearances of those compatriots who dare confronted the murderous apparatus of a despotic regime. As a student, I mourned the disbandment of Congress and in its wake silenced the libertarian and gallant eloquence of its members who condemned the atrocities of military rule not to mention unconscionable extravagance of the conjugal conspirators in the face of gripping poverty. It was a despairing although not a hopeless moment.
True enough, the First Quarter Storm broke out in the late seventies presaging the awakened patriotism of the studentry and joined en masse the struggle to depose the unrepentant Dictator. Finally, in the aftermath of the martyrdom of Ninoy Aquino, a people’s uprising ended tyranny and restored civilian ascendancy.
Mankind is replete with despots who cannot govern under a culture of free discourse. The democratic marketplace of ideas that filter out the better course towards the attainment of socio-economic equity and national solidarity does not appeal to them. This is unfortunate in the sense that any idea that fancies in a despotic mind is the law- a telltale sign of Grand Delusion pampered by cowardice. NEVER AGAIN!
For another, it would appear coincidental that this year’s theme echoes the current apprehension over the successive loss of human lives as a consequence of police operations, especially in the campaign against prohibited drugs. It is noteworthy, however, despite the discordant voice assailing the manner by which the government carries out its anti-illegal drug war, the majority of Filipinos supports President Duterte’s personal crusade in vanquishing the drug menace.
Yet, even the well-meaning supporters of our beloved President are hoping that greater emphasis must be focused in destroying the hierarchy of the major drug players, e.g., foreign suppliers and their local chain of distributors protected by narco politics. It calls for sealing the source valve. As it is now, the drug campaign zeroes in on the end-users rather than the supply side. The consensus is that drug dependants are mere victims and should be rehabilitated. The rehabilitation facility housed in the Diocese of San Simon, Pampanga is worthy of emulation.
In any case, the majesty of the rule of law is at the very heart of our representative democracy. Under this system, the Filipino people in their sovereign capacity forged a covenant of fundamental character known as Philippine Constitution. The purpose is to establish a government that shall harness the nation’s wealth for the equitable enjoyment of the present and succeeding generations of Filipinos “under the rule of law and a regime of truth, justice, freedom, love, equity and peace.” Nothing conveys more in unmistakable terms the sacred import of the majesty of the law than the aforecited text of the Preamble of our Constitution.
Thus, every Filipino is duty-bound to uphold and defend the proper observance of its sacred provisions.
But, public officials who are tasked to enforce the law precisely to protect the citizenry against lawlessness must always ensure that in so doing no person shall be deprived of precious life, liberty or property without due process of law. It must be hastened to add that the Majesty of the Law does not condone criminals. On the contrary, it provides for their punishment although it requires that the punishment must have the authority of a judicial decree. The heartening news is that President Duterte keeps on reasoning us of his commitment to respect the Majesty of the Law. In fairness, the fact that the President declared September 21 as a National Day of Protest is an indication of his dislike to Martial Rule. NEVER AGAIN!