BY: DONALD SEVILLA
- A QUEST FOR JUSTICE
The spate of events that hugged the national limelight of late, gives us reason for deep reflection on the ills that plague our society.
Dismissed Bambàn, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo quietly slipping out of the country despite being on the immigration alert list and the “ala-teleserye” saga of high profile fugitive Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, are but a few of the incidents that put our country’s institutions in a bad light.
The daring escape of fugitive Congressman Arnie Teves to Timor Leste several months back only reinforces the fact that we have a lot of cleaning to do in our backyard.
Would circumstances have changed if these personalities were ordinary people without money and power? How blind and impartial is Lady Justice hereabouts?
While their actions are cause for national embarrassmenţ, these point to a deeper malady our society is guilty of.
We admire those who have wealth and power and tend to be lenient towards them. The fugitives mentioned above are billionaires with vast fortunes that could buy their way out òf any predicament.
How do you think did they manage to slip past our authorities without getting help from the inside? While heads may rolĺ as promised, we have yet to fully appreciate the sincerity of these declarations.
Sadly, we have to set our priorities rìght and reinforce our moral values to level the playing field. Many a Mang Tomas suffered a harsher fate to answer for much less.
We have seen ordinary folks languish in jail for petty crimes committed just to sustain their families. But can we say the same of these high profile wealthy personalities?
As money is a finite resource, the more you have, the less there are for others. If you accumulated billions, just imagine the billions that others lose, too.
Yet this is the sad reality we are in. Life is not fair but we can help ease the burden on society by promoting values of justice and fair play.
When Alice Guo was brought to the custody of our Philippine authorities, we saw bureaucrats scrambling to have selfies with her smiling, according her some sort of celebrity status. It does not speak of good taste and this only highlights our insensitivity and lack of “delicadeza”.
Apollo Quiboloy presented to the media, his face all covered, barely recognizable, drew criticism from DOJ Sec. Remulla who questioned its wisdom when prior to his “capture or surrender” his face was conspicuosly plastered in wanted posters all over the country. This lack of transparency leads some to question if it was really him.
No wonder ordinary folks feel aggrieved and discriminated against. Our values have been severely affected and corrupted.
With what is happening to our present state of affairs, do we stand a chance at getting justice? Is our justice blind and fair or blind to look the other way?
Many things can and will happen. We’ll just have to patiently wait to see the light of daý!