All the same bananas, right?

Batas Mauricio .

WITH the way Sen. Francis Escudero and his political allies have been berating the Marcoses, one would think his group and his allies did not commit any plunder, abuse, or corruption against the Filipino people. Kiko, as the Bible intones, before you even think of criticizing the dirt in your brother’s eye, be sure to clean up first your own dirt in your own eyes.

In fact, the issue is not just between the Marcoses and the people. There is here a bigger and more scandalous issue between the Aquinos and our countrymen regarding graft and corruption, plunder, and the many injustices that have been committed by them against the poor and the marginalized Filipinos, which even include the proliferation of shabu and other illegal drugs in the country during your own time as government leaders.

If we try to come right down to the bottom of everything, it cannot be denied that your group, Kiko, is no different from the Marcoses. You are all the same bananas, especially because your group and your allies are yourselves involved in taking away government money, where the prime example was the distribution by Noynoy Aquino of billions of pesos in government funds as disbursement acceleration program (DAP) incentives to lawmakers like you. Indeed, our own Supreme Court declared DAP illegal.

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These are questions I asked in 2012 which need answers now: “… Is the Aquino government hiding something from the Filipino people about the Scarborough Shoal standoff? Is it true that during the state visit of President Aquino to China in August 2011, he was shown by Chinese officials a deed of sale, signed by President Macapagal, where it appears that the Philippines sold the Shoal to China? If this is true, why are we not being told about this deed?

“I was told that sometime in the 1950s to early 1960s, the family of the late Sen. Jose Roy of Tarlac occupied the Shoal and conducted business there, even using their own currency system. But for inexplicable reasons, Roy and his relatives were taken out of the Shoal by the Macapagal government. Since then, China, Vietnam and other neighboring countries staked their claims on the tiny islands. Could this be true?

“If all these information are true, it could explain why the Chinese are so bold in sending their gunships to the Shoal–with the deed of sale signed by Macapagal, they indeed own Scarborough, and so it is but natural for them to flex their muscles against the Philippines’ `intrusion’. Now, this could also explain why Filipino officials are not so keen on bringing the matter to the United Nations–where the Macapagal deed of sale could surface’…”

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The undeniable truth in the Philippines is that, yes, the government (or even any private person or group) can kill criminals or any other person, legally and in accordance with the laws and the Constitution. Under Section 1, Art. 3, of the 1987 Constitution, it is there provided that “(N)o person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.”

The clear import of this is that, anyone can be killed by the government, as long as due process is observed first. In fact, even under the Revised Penal Code, any person who faces grave danger is authorized to kill whoever is the source of the danger to his life. The problem, however, is that, due process is sometimes difficult to be honestly and faithfully observed and implemented, and is usually made to bend towards powerful, rich, and influential citizens by a lot of factors.

And this is what is scary. There are a lot who complain that they have been unjustly punished for a crime they did not commit.

Sometimes, the complaints against unjust punishment get to be aired only after the person accused of a crime had already been executed.

Maybe Sen. Pacquiao should first work towards improving the justice system in the country, where everyone is truly given his rights, before insisting on capital punishment.

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I will have to correct myself on the Preamble of the proposed Federal Constitution, with the kind indulgence of our readers here. That Preamble actually mentioned “Almighty God,” not just “the Almighty” as I wrote here earlier. The version I earlier utilized for the earlier column seems to have missed the reference to God.

With that, I can now say that the Preamble truly gives thorough importance to God, acknowledging that He is possessed with power and might. And, with due respect to other believers of God, I am of the perception that the Preamble’s reference to God was actually taken from the Christian Bible, especially from Isaiah 9:6, the verse we quoted above, which actually refers to the child that was born to Mary as the “Mighty God, Everlasting Father.”

And this is is as it should be. I would not tire repeating, again and again, that the only way for the Filipino nation to experience abundance in material riches is for them to anchor their thoughts, words, actions, and appearance, on the commands of God–particularly those contained in the Bible. That is why I believe that the Preamble of the Federal Constitution is a good start, towards redirecting our countrymen to true belief in God!

E-mail: batasmauricio@yahoo.com