SAN CARLOS CITY–Reform the criminal justice system.

This is the call of Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas embodied in his statement titled “May Ibang Sagot sa Kasamaan” read during the prayer rally against death penalty held on Dec. 12 here.

A Mass was held at the Saint Dominic Parish Church, followed by a march around the city’s business center and a rally at the city plaza for the “No to Death Penalty” campaign.

Villegas said some Filipinos want to restore death penalty so that offenders would not repeat their crime and would not be emulated.

 

Students join rally organized by Lingayen-Dagupan Archdiocese (Punchphoto by Ray Zambrano)

“Who will order it? The court. Who is the court? Human. Is there a human who is infallible? Can the court commit mistake? Like all humans, it can be wrong,” Villegas said.

He went on to ask, “What if after the execution it would be found out that another person is at fault? Just sorry? Is that it? Oh wrong? Can you bring back the life of a wrongly executed person? Can you bring back the life of a gun slain mistaken identity?”

He said the criminal justice system has three components: law enforcement, courts and correction.

If the criminal justice system is clean and honorable, the Philippine will be beautiful, it will be orderly and it will progress,” he said. “Even if there is death penalty, it would be useless if the police can be corrupted and the rich can easily pay and they get off-the-hook.

“Even if there is death penalty, but the fiscal can be paid, only those who cannot afford to pay would be charged… if a good lawyer charges high, only the poor would be guilty in the court…if the judge can be bribed, even if there is death penalty, the highest bidder could be easily acquitted,” he said

Villegas went on to cite the corruption inside the prisons, persons in the judiciary and among law enforcers.

“Cleanse the police! Fix all the courts. Be strict with the jails,” Villegas said.

He added that if the there are good jobs and respect the rights of laborers, the Philippines would move forward.

“A decent job, not death penalty is needed!,” he said.

Villegas said they are against crime, drugs, rape, plunder, smuggling, kidnapping and terrorism! “We are against social disorder,” he said.

“We do not condone the wrong. We do not disregard the hurt of the victims of crime.”

He said they are not protesting without a solution. “We are protesting with an alternative.  Reform the criminal justice system,” he added. (Tita Roces)

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