We, the Missionary Benedictine Sisters of the Manila Priory, express our grave concern about the culture of death creeping into our society and the rampant and open violations of human rights linked to the Duterte administration’s war on illegal drugs.
At the outset, we state our condemnation of the drug trade that has not been properly addressed due to corruption, indifference and lack of political will. Powerful drug syndicates have succeeded in penetrating all levels of our society through bribery of corrupt public officials and law enforcers. This in turn has resulted in the corruption of our youth, the proliferation of heinous crimes, and the deterioration of the moral fabric of our society.
That is why an antidrug crusader in the person of a Mayor Rodrigo Roa Duterte from Davao City was elected president of the Philippines by a wide margin last May.
We are supportive of President Duterte’s determined and single-minded crusade against the illegal drug trade. We are, however, appalled at the ever-increasing number of extrajudicial killings perpetrated by law enforcers themselves or by vigilantes in this crusade.
We believe in the fundamental ethical dictum that the end does not justify the means.
We believe that not only victims but even perpetrators have human rights and any judgment on them should go through due process.
We condemn the arrogation by law enforcers of powers that do not belong to them, by virtue of which they have made themselves judges and executioners.
We believe that the right to life is the most basic of human rights and is the foundation on which all other human rights are built upon. It is God’s greatest gift and should be held sacred by all.
We do not believe in punishing criminals by becoming criminals ourselves.
We do not want our country to become “Asia’s new killing fields.”
We call upon the Duterte administration to:
- State categorically that extrajudicial killings are not part of the campaign against illegal drugs.
- Stop promising or giving rewards for every drug user or trafficker killed, or setting quotas of drug arrests or surrenderees.
- Investigate the killings to determine their legitimacy.
- Punish those who are found guilty of summary killings.
For the same reason that we hold life sacred, we also declare our dissent to the restoration of the death penalty.
We state that the death penalty as a means of deterrence against crime has long been debunked.
We believe that the death penalty is antipoor because the poor have no access to skilled lawyers to defend them.
As Pope Francis said: “The commandment, ‘Thou shalt not kill’ has absolute value and applies to both the innocent and the guilty.”
We call on all our alumni, students and their parents, faculty, employees, health workers and mission partners, and all people of goodwill to oppose the culture of death and impunity and promote a profound respect for life.
—SR. ADELAIDA YGRUBAY, OSB, prioress, Missionary Benedictine Sisters, St. Scholastica’s Priory, Malate, Manila