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| Bishop Pablo Virgilio David photo from Sunstar (ctto) |
Manila, Philippines – Caloocan Bishop
Pablo Virgilio David, will still say it over and over again that he was “a bishop and a shepherd” who respected the
democratically elected government, adding that he was “not a politician or a
rebel.” In spite of, sedition charges against him and some other clergymen.
“We respect the democracy in our country and the mandate of
our authorities. We hope they also respect the ‘rule of law’ that is the foundation of the democracy that gave them the opportunity to serve as
government officials,” said David in a
Facebook post on Saturday morning.
According to him, the Diocese of
Caloocan has been supportive of government’s programs, from education to
environmental protection projects, to malnutrition mitigation and even
community-based drug rehabilitation programs as a matter of fact.
“Even in our pastoral response on the war on drugs, when we
appeal to ‘stop the killing, start the healing,’ we do not oppose the government’s
campaign to stop criminality, especially the illegal drug trade. Our plea is
for the law to be upheld, for human rights and dignity to be respected, for
lives to be preserved, and for the sick and victims to be given aid,” David said.
As the Vice President of the Catholic
Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines he also noted the slogan “Jail the pusher, save the user,” saying that criminals should be held responsible for their deeds.
They should be tried in a court of
law and jailed if necessary, but they should not be killed.
David further added that criminals have families too, If they die, their loved ones would go hungry.
David further added that criminals have families too, If they die, their loved ones would go hungry.
“Yes, drug peddling is a crime, but
we should treat addicts as sick people, not as criminals. They are going
through mental health issues. They need rehabilitation, not jail. They do not
need judgment, but care and understanding so they can change,” he added.
The Philippine National Police
recently filed sedition cases against 36 individuals, including David and
several clergymen, over “The Real Narcolist” videos supposedly made by Peter
Joemel Advincula, alias “Bikoy,” in April.
The videos also linked several people close
to the President to the illegal drug trade.
Source: Inquirer
1 Comments
Criminals are punished. No one is above the law regardless of profession. A criminal should be punished no matter what his affiliation is if he has done a crime punishable by law and priests are not exempted.
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