A Day for Mourning

Early today, three Filipinos have been put to death because of an attempt to smuggle heroin in China. A week ago, they were sentenced to death and they were not even aware of it. Philippines' last minute plea for mercy was in vain. The entire Filipino community is grieving.

What they have done was against the law and no reason could ever justify their action. However, the same goes with China's take on punishment for those found guilty of such crime. It is not EVER JUSTIFIABLE to execute any life as if it weren't inviolable. What gives any one the right to take away life?  Life imprisonment would be more than enough to make up for any crime committed. I have been and still am personally against death penalty. I am thankful it has been abolished in our country for decades now.

What I also don't understand is not allowing the concerned to know of their fate? It makes all the difference to know that their lives will be taken, that they will be dead in a week's time. I wish they were given MORE time to spend with their families (their children, most especially), who are a thousand miles away. I wish the Philippine government, despite saying they did all they could do to spare the lives of the three, exerted MORE effort. This is the problem with the kind of government we have. If only the officials weren't corrupt and selfish, hunger, unemployment, and poverty wouldn't be prevalent. If this is the case, no more Filipino would choose to go abroad, seeking for greener pastures. If only the Philippine government is protective of the rights of those who RISK their lives by contributing largely to the economy of the country, then no one would undergo the same fate as the three. As I write, there are still more than 70 Filipinos on death row in China for drug offenses while more than 7,000 more are in jails across the globe.

“The case of the three Filipinos executed in China is but one of countless cases that can be attributed ultimately to the failure of our government to uplift the lives of ordinary citizens," Olalia, a  secretary general of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers .

Truly, our Overseas Filipino Workers are our modern heroes. They may be put in bad light because of the crimes they are FORCED to commit for obvious reasons, but that doesn't strip them off of this title.