Dura lex, sed lex, says an old legal maxim. The law may be harsh, but it is the law.
Conversely, we can say that the law may be kind, but it is the law. With this, I have no problem with a new rule that reduces sentences of convicts who have shown good behavior while serving their prison terms, especially because it will benefit those who have been wrongly accused and convicted.
But Mayor Antonio Sanchez is not an ordinary criminal. He practically ruined my generation, our generation. The horrors of those unspeakable crimes still reverberate to this day.
He was given due process of law. That was the most humane thing he deserved. But to free him without his having finished his sentence? No. Hell, no!
Had he shown remorse, I would have been one of those persons defending his shot at redemption. But throughout his prison time, all we’ve read about are the privileges unfairly accorded him. It’s as if he’s not in prison at all, what with drugs found in his cell and other violations in his record.
The law may be kind, but it is the law. But this time, I’ll say the law must be harsh. After all, allowing an evil man to feel the pain of his full, justly rendered sentence is not evil.
JONAS CABILES SOLTES
Zone 4, Antipolo, Tinambac, Camarines Sur