Pope Francis prayed for the Philippines and said he would also pray for President Rodrigo Duterte. This he did after receiving a letter from the Philippine president who expressed his high esteem and respect for the Pontiff.
Recall that Duterte vented his ire on the Pope and cursed him during the papal visit in January 2015. Duterte fumed at the Pope for causing him to be stuck in traffic; millions of Filipinos lined the route of the Pope’s motorcade leading to the Quirino Grandstand where he celebrated Mass.
But what’s the Pope to do but forgive Duterte who’s known for his bluster and expletives? Not to do so would make the Pope look bad and unforgiving. Perhaps there’s still hope for Duterte to mend his ways and change his tone of language in his public statements.
The President’s letter was delivered by Peace Process Adviser Jesus Dureza and Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay who were in Rome for the third round of the GRP-National Democratic Front peace talks. Although he sent Pope Francis a conciliatory letter for his profane outburst, Duterte, true to form, lashed out again at Catholic priests for their “hypocrisy” in criticizing the alleged extrajudicial killing of drug suspects. He said some of these priests who have wives on the side do not realize the extent of the drug menace in the country.
The Duterte administration’s war on drugs was again the subject of a recent US Senate committee hearing on the extrajudicial killings of drug suspects. Duterte’s war, since it started six months ago, has since claimed 6,000 lives. But the bigger attention now of this widespread anti-drug campaign has been the recent kidnap and killing of a South Korean businessman. The Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs headed by Senator Richard Gordon has initiated an inquiry on how some policemen are using the anti-drug campaign as a ploy to arrest and extort money not only from suspects but also from innocent people.
The National Bureau of Investigation revealed businessman Jee Ick Joo was killed on the same day he was snatched in Angeles, Pampanga. His wife had paid the kidnappers P5 million not knowing her husband was already dead and cremated in a La Loma, Quezon City mortuary. Yet, the kidnappers were still demanding an extra P4.5 million for his release. Fearing for her husband’s safety and because she did not get proof of life, the wife reported the kidnappers’ demand to the NBI. Through dogged sleuthing, the bureau was able to trace the suspects’ identities.
The kidnap-slay of the Korean trader aroused national condemnation as he was a legitimate businessman not involved in the illegal drug trade. His wife, in fact, said he wanted to stay permanently in the Philippines where he planned to put up a foundation to help poor people. The heinous crime against the Korean businessman comes at a time when 87 candidates are in the country for the Miss Universe beauty pageant. The Association of Southeast Nations summit of leaders is also scheduled right after the Miss U event. With the presence of the international press in Manila, the Jee Ick Joo kidnap-murder is sure to get worldwide media coverage.
So much for the positive spin expected to be generated by the two big events hosted by the country.
Will Digong be as merciless in dealing with these policemen who have given his war on drugs a black eye? In a warning to legislators, mayors and policemen, he told them to repent, resign or die! Early in his presidency, Duterte released the names of four police generals allegedly involved in coddling drug lords. But after doing so, these ranking police officials have yet to be charged and tried.
While Duterte is trying to negotiate a peace settlement with the NDF-New People’s Army, he raises the specter of the terrorist group Islamic State threat in Mindanao as a reason for declaring martial law. Then, why not harness the full force of the military and police forces to crush both the decades old communist insurgency and the Muslim separatist movement?
Going back to the time of former President Cory Aquino, the government tried talking to both the leaders of the communists group and the Muslim rebels. Alas, negotiations have broken down and the insurgency continues on two fronts in Mindanao and Luzon.
With NDF leaders Joma Sison and Luis Jalandoni growing old, perhaps the Utrecht-based communist group might finally reach a peace agreement with the government for lack of new leaders to continue their effort to end the communist movement in the Philippines, one of the oldest in the world.