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Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Speak out: Vigilante killings
By Fr. Carmelo Diola
Barug Pilipino
Nearly a year ago, Dec. 31, 2004 to be exact, Barug Pilipino came out with a statement on the evils of vigilantism. We talked about the remedy being worse than the sickness and of the end not justifying the means.
Our fears, we said, are being manipulated to give a false sense of security. We saw that vigilantism is tantamount to a complete loss of faith in our pillars of justice.
Such killings seek to appease bloodlust, as in the gladiatorial combats in ancient Rome when emperors drew the public’s attention away from governmental and societal failure.
Alas our call and those of other concerned citizens fell on deaf ears.
Many individuals justified the killings as necessary for a more “safe” Cebu. Some media commentators even became agitators, quoting the Bible in search for divinely sanctioned excuse for the murders.
Meanwhile the body count arose. And for every dead, a part of us died with the victim. Our collective consciences became mute, our sense of right and wrong deadened.
Now, more than 100 murders later, are we really better off? Is Cebu safer and more secure? Has our society become more human, more livable?
Recently, we came across an incident involving a foreigner who was in Cebu on a business trip. His eyes caught the headlines, “Murder City.”
Instead of feeling safe, after all vigilante killings are not supposed to be directed at investors, the person was too afraid to venture outside the office.
Safe? Investor friendly? Christian? Human?
Various sectors need to get its acts together, going beyond mere lip service to do something concrete.
How about rewards for information leading to the capture of vigilantes? How about unequivocal condemnation of the killings by leaders from government, business, civic and service groups, the academe, etc.?
How about a sustained information campaign denouncing the killings? Also honest to goodness reforms in our pillars of justice so there will be no excuses to take matters in one’s own hands?
No leads they say?
Who would have access to the records of the victims? Do vigilantes just kill for the sake of a sense of duty or are there other forms of incentives? Does the solution to vigilantism really deserve a low priority in government?
These questions need to be answered. Above all, we need to ask ourselves: “Do we still believe in ourselves and in God?” If the answer is no, then let the killings continue.
(November 23, 2005 issue)
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