The lady senator further questioned why the police general released the former executive secretary by removing the handcuffs. Very clearly to any layman, removing the handcuffs while the subject person is under control could not be considered as releasing the person from custody. The line of questions which was supported by senators Ronald “Bato” Marapon dela Rosa and Robinhood Ferdinand “Robin” Cariño Padilla, mainly that the former and now detained president is too old to be in prison are not convincing.

Senator de la Rosa had the temerity to question police general Nicolas Deloso Torre III if it did not cross his mind that what he is doing is illegal as it violated the constitution, particularly the bill of rights. The police general held his ground that what he did was within the ambit of the law and he did everything in the presence of the police director general and the counsel from the justice department. It was his discretion to perform his task in accordance with the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court.

The police general further explained that his actions were within the ambit of the law, citing the principle of force continuum which is a linear-progressive decision-making process, displaying police responses commensurate with a suspect’s resistance level to ensure compliance, arrest, and other law enforcement actions, while upholding human rights and maintaining professional conduct. At the time of the arrest, there was actual obstruction by the former executive secretary which obstruction was repelled when the police officers handcuffed the former executive secretary, who being a lawyer, submitted and cooperated with the arresting team.

The lawyer from the justice department in the person of General State Prosecutor Richard Anthony Donayre Fadullon explained that the police officers under Police General Nicolas Deloso Torre III actually followed the standards in arresting a suspect by requesting first the cooperation of the former executive secretary, giving them enough time to cooperated with the arresting team. It was only when the obstruction to the arrest remained that the police officers that the former executive secretary was handcuffed.

As repeatedly discussed by the resource persons, chiefly by the justice secretary that the Philippines as a state may not be bound by the International Criminal Court but individuals are. Even the opinion of retired Associate Justice Adolfo Sevilla Azcuna that the International Humanitarian Law are applicable during wartime as well as peacetime. The ICC exercised its complementary jurisdiction based on its findings that the Philippine government failed to genuinely prosecute the former and now detained president. Despite all the explanation, the lady senator who chairs the senate foreign relations committee insists on her unconvinced confusion, an indication exposing daftness.
comments to alellema@yahoo.com

WE should just firm up our conviction about how Christ is always caring for us. His ways may be mysterious and can escape our notice, but we should not forget that there is no moment in our life when Christ would be absent or indifferent to our needs.

We are reminded of this truth of our faith in that gospel episode about the third appearance of Christ to his disciples after his resurrection. (cfr. Jn 21,1-19) At first, they did not realize it was Christ who was asking them something from the shore when they were fishing at sea. It took some time before they would finally recognize him.

In our life, we should be wary of our tendency to feel that we are just on our own, grappling with our own things and that Christ has hardly anything to do with us. We have to correct that understanding. Christ always cares for us and he is precisely in everything that we get involved in, giving us the proper direction, guidance and support.

We should always remember that Christ takes care of everything. And even from evil, he would know how to derive some good. With him, everything, including our failures and sins, would always work for the good. His wisdom, his omnipotence, his mercy, etc. would take care of all that.

The crucial thing to do is to be with Christ, which definitely will require some discipline from us. And so, even if especially at the beginning, we would find it hard, if not almost impossible to be with him, we just have to do what we can to achieve that ideal condition for us. In time, and with faith and our unrelenting effort, to be with Christ is not only achievable, but something that can become a stable state of life for us. Again, let’s remember that we are actually meant for that state of life.

We can be sure that on the part of Christ, everything is made available, so that whatever difficulty and problem we have in this life, we would know how to leverage them to our real and lasting advantage, and not just some false and passing advantage.

Obviously, we have to do our part. In fact, we have to exhaust all human means to resolve whatever difficulties and problems we have. But knowing that our best would never be enough, we should never forget that there is God, our Father, our Creator, who began something good in us and who will also be the one to finish, complete and perfect everything in us. (cfr. Phil 1,6)

We have to strengthen our conviction on this wonderful truth of our faith. We should not allow ourselves to be dominated by sadness, much less, despair over some weakness, mistakes, failures, blunders and sins that can mark our earthly sojourn.

While it’s true that our initial reaction to these negative things can unavoidably be one of sadness, let us not stay long there. We have to immediately recover our true dignity as children of God. Being a father, God would always understand and forgive us.

God will never give up on us. He will do everything to help and save us. As St. Paul would put it in his Letter to the Romans: “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (8,32)