Filipino Catholics are being urged to pray for the persecuted Christians in Syria and Iraq.
The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, responding to the call of Pope Francis, has enjoined priests to offer Masses “for the special intention of persecuted Christians” in the two civil war-torn Middle East countries.
Before we pray for the persecuted Christians of faraway lands, we should first pray for our own country.
We should pray for:
—Our beloved Philippines, that it catch up with neighboring Asian nations in economic progress when it was, ironically, way ahead of them from the late 1940s up to the late ’60s.
—Our national and local leaders, that they serve their constituents with dedication and honesty.
—Our priests and bishops, that they stop interfering in governance.
—Our unknowing masses, that they vote into office competent and honest leaders.
—Our police force, that it be rid of corrupt, incompetent and criminal members.
—Our brothers in the mountains, that they lay down their arms so this country can move forward economically.
—Our countrymen, that they become disciplined and follow even just the basic of laws like those of traffic.
After praying for our own above-mentioned intentions, then we can pray for the starving people in Africa and the persecuted Christians in the Middle East.
Before saving others from drowning, we should first save ourselves from being drowned.
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Davao City Mayor Rody Duterte wasn’t joking when he said that if the kidnapping cases on Edsa took place in his city, all the policemen suspects would have been dead by now.
One could count on the fingers of one hand criminals as well as criminals in police uniform, if any, in the city of the controversial mayor who walks his talk.
If Duterte becomes our president—that is, should he decide to run and win in 2016—the national police force would probably be cut in half, with the remaining members very disciplined and competent.
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Policemen who commit crimes should not be allowed to go on with their lives because they have abused the people’s trust.
If spies are executed for betraying their country, policemen who abuse the people’s trust should suffer the same fate.
During the heyday of the dreaded Alex Boncayao Brigade (ABB) in the 1980s and ’90s, many abusive and corrupt policemen were executed in the streets resulting in only a few cops abusing civilians.
With the ABB gone, abusive cops have made a comeback.
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I’m disappointed with a vigilante group within the PNP that was supposed to eliminate notorious members the extrajudicial way.
I thought that with the existence of the vigilante group, which I made known in this column, criminal cops would turn over a new leaf.
I learned of the existence of the vigilante group from a PNP official. But as far as I know, the group only eliminated one criminal cop, a member of a gang that robbed houses and tied up their occupants.
I haven’t heard of similar measures undertaken by the group.