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"TO
LIVE OR LET DIE?"
By
Ramesh A. Dataya and Glen Villacuer, Copyright 1998
It
is indeed difficult to take sides regarding the death
penalty issue, unless, of course, you happen to be a
stout believer of the church or a victim of crime yourself.
The issue is so intense that it has nearly divided the
Filipinos into two groups – the pro-death and the pro-life.
Some people believe that victims of crime deserve justice
through the death of their oppressors, but others also
believe that only God has the right to take one’s life.
For them, it is a case of choosing one out of the two
powerful rules – the rule of man and the rule of God.
Indeed, it’s a difficult choice. But in the end, these
people have to decide for themselves what is the proper
rule to follow, and whether what law prevails is not
up to the government, but the FILIPINO PEOPLE. The answer
is up to them.
TO LIVE
By
Glenn Villacuer
We
exist in this world simply because of the enormous and
unconditional love bestowed to us by our Heavenly Father.
It is only He alone who can give us the gift of life,
and therefore, it is only He who can take it back. Thus,
we should be pro-life persons who firmly disagree with
the death penalty. As the scriptural passage declares
"Thou Shall Not Kill". This is simply a strong
evidence that the death penalty is against the law of
God. A person has the right to live whatever crime or
sin he has committed.
Furthermore,
when the initial execution of Leo Echagaray was postponed
last January 9, the issue of the death penalty was polarized.
Nevertheless, majority of the Filipinos who are craving
for bloodshed insists that the death penalty should
be strictly implemented to deter crimes in our country.
However, when his execution did push through last February
5, crimes were not eliminated. Instead, it still reigns
sovereign in this chaotic land. This simply proves that
the death penalty does not thoroughly deter crimes nor
surmount it once and for all.
Several
American and European countries abolished the death
penalty because it does not minimize crimes. In fact,
in Canada alone, they abolished the death penalty because
crime was never lessened. The vast majority of our own
death convicts are just small fishes, but how about
the big fishes who have influenced our corrupt officials?
Is this what they call justice?
The
death penalty is simply against the law of God, for
it is only He who has the right to take away one’s life.
And with Echagaray’s death, it only shows that we Filipinos
do not value the teachings of the Bible. We should all
feel guilty, because the sin of the state is also the
sin of the people. Blood is stained in our hands.
The
recent message of Pope John Paul in his recent visit
to Mexico was to value the so-called culture of death.
A person should only be involved in two processes. First,
he is born and then will die in a natural way. Thus,
he keeps reminding all countries to stop and abolish
the death penalty.
Let
us always infuse to our minds that God forgives those
who had sinned against Him. So why not us humans? They
say that God gave us our law in this world, and that
death penalty is our own law that is not against God.
The law of God, according to them, is separated from
the law of human beings. However, let me state that
it is not in accordance to the Holy law of our divine
creator. Let us always bear in our minds that life is
precious and should be respected forever and ever whatever
the case it may be. We should give the sinners a chance
to repent and rebuke, and that’ s only because everything
has its’ own chance. As the saying goes, "When
there is life, there is hope."
TO
DIE
By
Ramesh A. Dataya
Put
yourself in the place of Baby, Leo Echagaray’s victim.
Just imagine the trauma, the turbulence and the sexual
abuse inflicted to you by this man who was supposedly
your own father. Then exorcise the moral damages his
greed and demonic lust has brought you. What do you
get?
What
you get is anger, fear and confusion. You’re angry because
the people you trust most betrayed you… you’re afraid
because of the possibility that they might hurt you
again… and your confused because you don’t know how
to face this world anymore. Soon enough, there is only
one consequence that will arise from this scenario:
you will crave for justice.
It
is justice – and justice alone – that victims of crime
like Baby E are aching for. The pain and agony experienced
by Baby can never be forgotten, because it has already
happened and memories will haunt her forever. But through
justice – the pain and agony can at least be soothed
and cured. For several years, Baby has been bothered
not only by cruel memories and thoughts, but also because
she did not get the justice that she deserves. For her
and other victims of crime, human life is unfair as
it is cruel. But with Leo Echagaray’s execution last
February, not only was justice served, but – more importantly
– the other victims of crime finally found hope. For
them, justice is finally coming someday.
The
majority of Filipinos believe that the death penalty
is the best form of preserving justice. Why? In this
world of greed, vain and corruption, criminals meted
with life terms of imprisonment can easily pay their
way out of prison. In other instances, they can also
be pardoned. That, by itself, is a terrible insult to
the victims of crime. It is like a slap on their faces.
Let us understand the emotions of these people, for
they are the ones who deserve our sympathy, and not
the criminals.
As
creatures of God, we do not question the wisdom of our
creator. Yes, it is stated in the commandments of God
that "thou shall not kill (or commit crime)."
And yet, many people ignore that rule and commit crime.
These are the ones whom we call criminals. So what would
you do with these people, especially those who committed
the worst offenses?
The
rule of man states that justice be served, while the
law of God aver that only He can take away one’s life.
Of course, only the word of God reigns sovereign. However,
God also gave us the freedom to decide among ourselves
what is right and what is wrong. This freedom is what
we now call the law of the people. By establishing the
death penalty as a capital punishment for heinous crimes,
it is only obvious that we are earnest in our drive
to promote the common good and what we believe is righteous.
As the creatures of God, we should protect our society
from the widespread of evil… and that is why we are
trying our best to terminate or at least minimize it.
God simply understands that, and the reason behind our
noble plight. He must be really proud.
Earth is, of course, not a paradise. It is not a haven
of angels, but neither is it a place for the devils.
It is a place where you can get a free ticket to heaven,
and also where you can get an advanced screening of
Hell.
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