MALACANANG said Saturday that President Rodrigo Duterte shares the same concern with Manila Archbishop Luis Cardinal Tagle for the Filipinos.
In a letter he wrote last Friday, Tagle said "we cannot govern a nation by killing," indirectly referring to Duterte's brutal drug crackdown, which had killed suspected drug personalities, including minors.
"Cardinal Tagle's concern with the Filipino families is noteworthy. This sentiment is something shared by the President as evidenced by his consistent pronouncements to protect the youth and future generation of this country," he added.
Tagle issued the letter amid the killings of teenagers Kian Lloyd Delos Santos, Carl Angelo Arnaiz, in Duterte administration's bloody war on drugs and the mysterious death of Reynaldo de Guzman.
De Guzman was last seen on the night of August 17 before Arnaiz was gunned down by police officers after he allegedly robbed a taxi driver on C3 Road in Caloocan City.
The bodies of Arnaiz and De Guzman were found separately in Caloocan and Nueva Ecija, respectively, bearing marks of torture.
"With pain and horror, we continue to get daily news of killings around the country. We cannot allow the destruction of lives to become normal. We cannot govern the nation by killing. We cannot foster a humane and decent Filipino culture by killing," Tagle said.
"As we denounce as inhuman and un-Christian an act willfully intended and planned to inflict harm or death on a human person, we call on those who harm of kill others to listen to their conscience, the voice of God that summons us to do good and avoid evil," he added.
Abella, however, said Tagle should take note also of the millions of drug personalities who surrendered to the authorities.
He said the number of drug suspects who turned themselves into the authorities "belied" Tagle's claim about Duterte's drug war.
"Much attention was given to the recent spate of deaths. The 1,308,078 drug personalities who voluntarily surrendered, as of July 26, 2017, belie the claim that 'we cannot allow the destruction of lives to become normal and we cannot govern the nation by killing,'" he added.
Also last Friday, Tagle asked for a five-minute tolling of church bells at 8 p.m. starting September 14, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, "to call on everyone to remember the dead and pray for them."
"The tolling of the church bells in the evening to pray for the dead is an old Filipino custom that has almost disappeared. Now is the right time to revive it," he said. (SunStar Philippines)