Presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte said that while he would target criminals, he would not kill NPA members because they are fighting for "an ideology." Duterte joked, however, that he would tell communist guerrillas to get out of his city and "go to Cebu and Bohol instead."
Is this a bad joke, or is this not? In this election season, this statement of DU30 could be misconstrued as the DU30 brand of iron fist which is no other than the selective extra-judicial approach to criminality done the communist NPA way! I would rather that people would misinterpret DU30's statement than for people to take it as a joke when DU30 was being serious about not exacting justice to countless crimes that members of the communist NPA rebels have committed against the laws of our country. In a civilized world governed by laws, ideology is never an excuse for crime, and this is what true justice is all about -- not selective. No matter how good the intention might be for committing a crime, it should never be an excuse for doing it. That is why under a genuine justice system, even when a person steals or sells drugs for the noble intention of earning money to feed his family, he must be exacted the punishment due for his crime. In like manner, no ideology no matter how "good" are the intentions of its adherents, when they break the law in advancing their cause, like other criminals they must equally be exacted due punishment for crimes they may have committed. A true leader should not just be tough on common crimes but also on crimes of killing brought about by rebellion. A president cannot just be iron-fisted when it comes to drug-related and other common criminals while at the same time being baby-handed to the countless murder crimes of rebellion. That would be double standard on his part! True justice should favor no individual or group. This is the way of true and genuine justice!
DU30 may had long disassociated himself from his past communist NPA roots, but yet in many public instances his actions would seem to demonstrate that deep in his heart still burns the communistic ideology. In the minds of people, this now puts in question what really is the sort of "federalism" DU30 and the unseen unknown hands behind his candidacy have really in mind.
People must bear in mind that in the art of war, one strategy that the communists are also adopting and employing is this: If you can't beat your enemy by force, then beat them by joining them -- by penetrating their system and subtly controlling it from the inside, and when the time is right, taking over it.
I pray I would be proven wrong when the time comes! May the man they code named "The Gong" (D-Gong or Digong) is really no longer a disciple of a godless communist ideology, not just by outward appearance but really by heart.
Peoples all over the globe have different cultures and beliefs and they adhere to different ideologies. This is why respect is so important for these differing ideologies to co-exist peacefully. In few regions of the world where there is peaceful co-existence among differing ideologies, the different groups of adherents don't just passively tolerate each others' group beliefs but they strive in cooperation to compensate for one another's weaknesses with their individual ideological strengths.
The best way for the CPP-NDF-NPA (Communist Party of the Philippines -- National Democratic Front -- New People's Army) to advance their cause is to join and participate in the government and its political process in the legal way. Their cause have legitimate concerns and they can advance them best by advocating for the reforms they wanted rather than commit crimes by rebelling against the government and take arms in order to ambush and fight the government's duly authorized armed forces.
Rodrigo Duterte is formerly from their ranks but have abandoned the arms struggle approach of advancing his idealism and have joined and participated in the government and now has made a great impact in at least a considerable part of the country. If the kind of change that Rodrigo Duterte is advocating is also the kind of change that the CPP-NDF-NPA is after, then perhaps they should follow the example of their former comrade by laying down their arms and use the strength of their ideology to help and support the multi-termer former mayor DU30 accomplish his cause and advocacy. After all, the people can still publicly observe that DU30 has not lost his heart for the legitimate valid reasons behind the cause and the ideology of the group he once belonged to.
In terms of advancing a group's valid legitimate cause, rebellious arm struggle has now become irrelevantly counter-productive and ineffective because it produces no good outcome, instead it only generates more killings and crimes, more sorrow and pain. If you are tired of arms struggle, then lay down your arms, join and participate in the government by following the example of the man they called "The Gong".
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But who am I to complain if God, in His wisdom, would put into highest authority in our land a man who is after his own human heart? -- a man who vows that within 6 months in office, by the might of his iron fist he will not fear hell nor hesitate going there so as to bring along with him particularly drug-related and common criminals; a man sought out by so many people to bring a "kind of change"; a man who thinks that what he would be doing (if elected president) to cleanse the country of the evils brought about by drug-related criminality and corruption could give God some sorrow.
Lord God, guide us. Forgive us for we are a people like many of the rest of the world who take special pride in calling ourselves by Your Son's name, but yet more than often, we act like children of men.
Is this a bad joke, or is this not? In this election season, this statement of DU30 could be misconstrued as the DU30 brand of iron fist which is no other than the selective extra-judicial approach to criminality done the communist NPA way! I would rather that people would misinterpret DU30's statement than for people to take it as a joke when DU30 was being serious about not exacting justice to countless crimes that members of the communist NPA rebels have committed against the laws of our country. In a civilized world governed by laws, ideology is never an excuse for crime, and this is what true justice is all about -- not selective. No matter how good the intention might be for committing a crime, it should never be an excuse for doing it. That is why under a genuine justice system, even when a person steals or sells drugs for the noble intention of earning money to feed his family, he must be exacted the punishment due for his crime. In like manner, no ideology no matter how "good" are the intentions of its adherents, when they break the law in advancing their cause, like other criminals they must equally be exacted due punishment for crimes they may have committed. A true leader should not just be tough on common crimes but also on crimes of killing brought about by rebellion. A president cannot just be iron-fisted when it comes to drug-related and other common criminals while at the same time being baby-handed to the countless murder crimes of rebellion. That would be double standard on his part! True justice should favor no individual or group. This is the way of true and genuine justice!
DU30 may had long disassociated himself from his past communist NPA roots, but yet in many public instances his actions would seem to demonstrate that deep in his heart still burns the communistic ideology. In the minds of people, this now puts in question what really is the sort of "federalism" DU30 and the unseen unknown hands behind his candidacy have really in mind.
People must bear in mind that in the art of war, one strategy that the communists are also adopting and employing is this: If you can't beat your enemy by force, then beat them by joining them -- by penetrating their system and subtly controlling it from the inside, and when the time is right, taking over it.
I pray I would be proven wrong when the time comes! May the man they code named "The Gong" (D-Gong or Digong) is really no longer a disciple of a godless communist ideology, not just by outward appearance but really by heart.
Peoples all over the globe have different cultures and beliefs and they adhere to different ideologies. This is why respect is so important for these differing ideologies to co-exist peacefully. In few regions of the world where there is peaceful co-existence among differing ideologies, the different groups of adherents don't just passively tolerate each others' group beliefs but they strive in cooperation to compensate for one another's weaknesses with their individual ideological strengths.
The best way for the CPP-NDF-NPA (Communist Party of the Philippines -- National Democratic Front -- New People's Army) to advance their cause is to join and participate in the government and its political process in the legal way. Their cause have legitimate concerns and they can advance them best by advocating for the reforms they wanted rather than commit crimes by rebelling against the government and take arms in order to ambush and fight the government's duly authorized armed forces.
Rodrigo Duterte is formerly from their ranks but have abandoned the arms struggle approach of advancing his idealism and have joined and participated in the government and now has made a great impact in at least a considerable part of the country. If the kind of change that Rodrigo Duterte is advocating is also the kind of change that the CPP-NDF-NPA is after, then perhaps they should follow the example of their former comrade by laying down their arms and use the strength of their ideology to help and support the multi-termer former mayor DU30 accomplish his cause and advocacy. After all, the people can still publicly observe that DU30 has not lost his heart for the legitimate valid reasons behind the cause and the ideology of the group he once belonged to.
In terms of advancing a group's valid legitimate cause, rebellious arm struggle has now become irrelevantly counter-productive and ineffective because it produces no good outcome, instead it only generates more killings and crimes, more sorrow and pain. If you are tired of arms struggle, then lay down your arms, join and participate in the government by following the example of the man they called "The Gong".
-------
But who am I to complain if God, in His wisdom, would put into highest authority in our land a man who is after his own human heart? -- a man who vows that within 6 months in office, by the might of his iron fist he will not fear hell nor hesitate going there so as to bring along with him particularly drug-related and common criminals; a man sought out by so many people to bring a "kind of change"; a man who thinks that what he would be doing (if elected president) to cleanse the country of the evils brought about by drug-related criminality and corruption could give God some sorrow.
Lord God, guide us. Forgive us for we are a people like many of the rest of the world who take special pride in calling ourselves by Your Son's name, but yet more than often, we act like children of men.
