Editorial
Life is God-given, precious
More than 2,000 people have been killed since President Rodrigo Duterte assumed the presidency. Around 900 of these killed in police operations in what the police said were those who chose to shoot it out with them.
These figures appear to have not included other killings that were not reported.
It seems to us that the anti-drug war declared by President Duterte has a chilling effect not only for those in the illegal drug trade but for those who stand by the time-honored belief that life is precious and it is God-given. The war has not definitely won the “aye” of those who stand on the universal principle of due process and human rights.
To add to this chill felt by many is the recorded deaths of children in the process of putting off the life out of those suspected as drug pushers. There are at least four deaths involving children, the latest of which was the death of a four-year-old in Guihulngan, Negros Oriental.
From where we stand, the situation will serve as both a reminder for those who are into the illegal drug trade and for those who are into the thick of implementing the anti-drug war of the Duterte administration. Life is precious that should not be wasted by being hooked into drug abuse. Life is precious that should not just be taken out easily by pumping holes into the victims’ bodies.
Illegal drugs, its use and trading, are evil. Period. No argument. But a civil society stamps out evil not by ways and means that are not consistent with our values and long-standing principles.
There must be middle ground in the campaign without necessarily going into the extreme. This middle ground must be found in order to uphold the sanctity of life and the indispensability of the rule of law and due process.