“Walang magulang ang marapat na maglibing sa kanyang anak.”
Ang masugatan, masaktan, o saglit nga lang na mawala sa paningin ang anak ay nagdudulot na ng pangamba at pag-aalala sa magulang, paano pa kung ang inaarugang anak ay mawala nang tuluyan? Walang katumbas na lungkot. Walang kasing bigat na pagsubok.
Pero sa ilalim ng rehimeng Duterte at ng pekeng War on Drugs, marami nang musmos ang napatay. May mga pumanaw habang nasa sinapupunan pa lamang ng inang napaslang. May apat na taong gulang na nabaril habang tinutugis ng mga pulis ang ama. May estudyanteng nagmakaawa para sa kanyang buhay, tinamnan ng ebidensya, at walang awang binaril. May libo-libong batang mistulang kinitil na rin ang kinabukasan nang pinaslang ang kanilang mga magulang.
This government doesn’t care for these victims. In fact, Duterte himself declared that they are mere collateral damage; acceptable sacrifices to achieve a so-called bigger objective.
But what can be achieved from a vile and hateful campaign that only targets the poor and spares big time drug lords? What do we hope to gain from slaughtering our own and leaving thousands mourning for their loved ones? What future can these innocent children expect when they have already been deprived of a fighting chance early on in their lives?
In the observation of Niños Inocentes or the Feast of the Holy Innocents which commemorates how King Herod ordered the execution of male infants out of his fear from being ousted, let us remember all the children who were killed by Duterte’s bloody War on Drugs. Let us pray for justice for the victims and for these senseless killings to stop. Let us fight for them.
Sa ating sama-samang panawagan at paninindigan, makakamit natin ang isang lipunan kung saan malayang nakapaglalaro ang mga bata, payapang nakapag-aaral, at nangangarap ng magandang kinabukasan para sa kanilang pamilya.
Isang mapagpalaya at makahulugang paggunita ng Niños Inocentes sa ating lahat.