“There are those who turn justice into bitterness and cast righteousness to the ground –Amos 5:7
A video depicting a boy accused of stealing being mauled has gone viral and is raising concerns. Despite being aware they were being recorded, the attackers continued to pummel the boy, later throwing him into a muddy river. Why were they so bold? What did they expect to come of their deeds? Why are police not taking action?
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While the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) is correct in their assertion that the drug problem is not only a law enforcement issue, they need to realize it is 99 percent connected to spirituality. PDEA must encourage spiritual rebirth or renewal for individuals to undergo rehabilitation and return to God, then their campaign against illegal drugs will have a fighting chance for success.
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Warnings about foreigners dominating natives of other lands have been made for years; ruling over sectors such as the economy (or in the Philippines case, online gambling, which is run by the Chinese). Warnings came as we were no longer listening to or obeying God’s commands. What is seen in Deuteronomy 28:15, 43-44, and 49-52 can be remedied, according to Deuteronomy 28:1-14. We should do this now!
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Conchita Carpio-Morales’ term as ombudsman is over but I have yet to hear her respond to the serious charges made against her by a Sandiganbayan justice. They called her an “amateurish featherweight” in her former position and pointed out the P10 billion plunder complaint filed against former Senator Ramon ‘Bong’ Revilla, Jr., Janet Lim Napoles, among others has many loopholes.
It’s unfortunate she has not responded. It’s a serious blunder since those charges only add to other accusations that have stained her name, which casts doubt on previous roles she has held in government. By not offering a rebuttal, Carpio-Morales will forever be known as an “amateurish featherweight” graft buster.
I wrote about the former ombudsman in a 2014 column:
“Morales’ silence could either mean that she couldn’t care less about the insult that the justice spewed out against her, or that, perhaps, she could not really rebut the anger that the justice poured on her.
What was the justice complaining about against Morales, specifically? First is that, Morales allegedly allowed the plunder charge against Revilla and Napoles to reach the graft court even if it is weak, thereby making the charge vulnerable to attack from the defense.
According to the justice, it is very clear that Morales and her subordinates at the Office of the Ombudsman acted hastily in the preliminary investigation of the plunder case. `Minadali’ (the Filipino word for acting haphazardly) was how the justice described the filing of the case.
Then, the justice also decried the inability of the charge that Morales filed with the Sandiganbayan against Revilla and Napoles to `establish the body of the crime’ of plunder. The justice complained that Morales allowed loopholes in the complaint for plunder, making it vulnerable to attack from the defense.
The justice further said: `With all the hype about truckloads of evidence (in the hands of the Ombudsman), the prosecution has yet to establish the body of crime. The justices (of the Sandiganbayan) will rule based only on evidence at hand, and presented. The prosecution had better make up their minds real soon and come up with better and stronger arguments and evidence.’”
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