Holy Week for us Filipinos is a special solemn 7 days of “Prayers, Fasting and Alms-giving.” It is some sort of official public announcement to Filipinos that this week is the most appropriate time for self-reflection on how they have conducted themselves as Christ-followers, and how they can comply more honestly with Christ’s commission of “serving the people.” Supposedly foremost in their minds at this period of the year is the question directed at themselves: “What have I done to personally carry out God’s mandate of “Love of God and Love of Neighbor,” and accordingly conduct myself henceforth.
In this regard, the Filipino people are wondering how their government officials are doing their
respective self-reflection, if at all, particularly their self-examination relative to their mandate of
implementing the Constitution and the Rule of Law. The people are especially focusing on the current
president and vice-president, without neglecting their attention too on the cabinet secretaries, the
senators, the congressmen, the LGU officials, judges (including the Supreme Court justices) and the
AFP/PNP generals and their underlings.
If these public officials, especially Pres. Bongbong Marcos and VP Sarah Duterte, were to ask the Filipino
people what would be the critical points for their deep self-examination as the country’s team-head-of-
state, there are countless critical national issues they have to solve ASAP if possible. Offhand an
immediate concern to be solved is the March 24 abduction of two youth environmental defenders in
San Carlos, Pangasinan, Eco Dangla and Jak Tiong. They were red-tagged under the Anti-terror law
(which has emboldened the NTF-ELCAC to red-tag many people – who were actually arrested, made to
disappear, and killed!) passed way back more than six years ago, under Sara’s father, former president
Rodrigo Roa Duterte. Cannot this Anti-Terror Law be abolished soonest, as suggested in fact by the UN
observer Irene Khan?
Many other long-pestering urgent issues that need immediate solutions (instead of initiating Cha-Cha at
this time): justice to the families of Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s drug-war victims -- more than 30,000 EJKs or
red-tagged victims of injustice; justice to the more than 700 political prisoners; widespread corruption
by government officials; economic recovery by providing jobs to the jobless, fair wages to the workers,
substantial assistance to the farmers and IPs; initiating worthwhile nationalistic educational strategies
and programs for the children and youth; strong effective response to the sustained bullying by China
(In fact, shouldn’t this highly-aggressive stance be investigated to seek the responsible public official
who made this possible or actually encouraged such illegal action by a country covered under
international law?). Another issue that needs investigation by Congress is the rigging of the May 9,2022
elections, as claimed by IT experts, especially by the TNT trio of Ret. Gen. Eli Rio, Jr., Gus Lagman and
Franklyn Ysaac.
In short, this current administration is basically expected, nay, demanded by the Filipino people, to
implement the Philippine Constitution and the Rule of Law. Indeed, the people are hoping that their
public officials, during this Holy Week, will seriously examine their consciences and realize that they
have failed the Filipino people in so many ways. And going forward, all public officials, especially the
dynasties, will do their job, NOT of oppressing and exploiting their constituents, but of truly “serving the
people.”
#WeTakeAStand #OpinYon #ColumnbyBoniMacaranas #PoliticsIsLife