By Estanislao Albano, Jr.
In response to the accusation of the Amnesty International that the police is responsible for the murder of defenseless people or paying others to kill as part of President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war saying that the deaths may amount to crimes against humanity, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre said that no such crime against humanity has been committed in the case because the victims are not human.
Using simple logic, the statement of Aguirre to me is an admission of the grave assertion of the international human rights watchdog. Instead of denying the involvement of the police and the government, Aguirre says there was no wrong done as the victims are not human. The situation is analogous to that of a prostitute accusing someone of rape and the latter, instead of denying the crime and proving his innocence, would say that there was nothing wrong done in the case because the victim is a cheap woman.
Or like when one pupil accuses another pupil of stealing his pad paper. Instead of denying the act, the accused says no stealing was done because what is missing is only scratch paper explaining that the victim uses recycled paper.
In another note, here is a bizarre situation: on the basis of Aguirre’s statement that criminals are not human, we may be the first country in the world with a non-human sitting as Justice Secretary. Senator Francis Escudero just said that Aguirre is not yet off the hook in the current Senate investigation on the P50M bribery scandal involving high officials of the Bureau of Immigration which means there is a possibility that Aguirre had had a hand in the crime and therefore a criminal.
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One of the few bright spots in the Duterte Administration is Secretary Regina Lopez of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). I could go as far as say that finally, we have a real Environment Secretary in the sense that she is championing the cause of healthy and sound environment. By contrast, her predecessors from as far back as I could remember never displayed any clear understanding and serious intent to fulfill the vital role of their department in the country a primary reason why we have been at the verge of environmental desolation for a long time now.
Her bold moves against destructive mining since she assumed office are commendable. So far, as a result of the mining audit of the 40 large scale mines operating in the county her department has undertaken, she had initially suspended the operations of 10 mines for various violations. And at the moment, the DENR is poised to padlock 23 mines for causing “massive environmental damage.” Among the evidence supporting the decision are photos and video showing the discoloration of water in heavily silted rivers and seas near the mines.
She is quoted in the papers as saying: “Water is life. Water is more important than money or gold.” No one in his right mind could argue against that.
What worries me though is that the final decision on the closure of the 23 mines rests on President Duterte and going by his inconsistency in so many issues, there is a distinct possibility that the work and intents of Secretary Lopez to stop the wanton destruction of the environment courtesy of the mining sector will all be for naught. Let us hope and pray that the key DENR decision will be spared from the flip-flopping practice of the president.
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Quips from my Facebook Wall:
On the meme which has a photo of North Korean strongman Kim Jung On laughingly saying “I no longer the craziest leader .” — “He is only the third craziest now. That’s not because his sanity has improved. It’s just that world leaders more crazy than he have emerged.”
On the news quoting President Duterte as saying he will never go to America — “The United Nations headquarters is safe for now.” (This is in reference to his threat to burn down the UN headquarters.)
On foreign news items quoting American psychiatrists as saying that President Donald Trump is displaying classic signs of mental illness — “Americans should find solace in the fact that theirs is not the only head of state who displays classic signs of mental illness.”**
