Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Killings In RP Worries Arroyo Peace Adviser

DAVAO CITY (Zamboanga Journal / 17 May) Presidents Gloria Arroyo's peace adviser condemned Wednesday the series of unsolved murders in the country and asked authorities to stop the killings and bring the perpetrators of the crimes to justice.
Secretary Jesus G. Dureza also cautioned the public against the growing "fascination" of some sectors to "quick justice" through the barrel of the gun.
"Vigilantism is anathema to our democratic system and I am getting worried that some sectors are getting fascinated at extra judicial executions. Murder of civilians, irrespective of who are responsible or who are the victims must be solved and redressed if we are a country that proclaims adherence to the rule of the law, Dureza said.
He said no one should decide who lives or who dies as if he is god. No one should be allowed to get away with it and this the primary duty of the police authorities to solve, he said. But he was quick to say that authorities cannot succeed if there is no active participation from civilians who can help provide the evidence needed to solve those killings."
"We cannot nurture a culture of violence in this civilized society of ours. If this new wave of murders are not solved, our ctizens will no longer be prone to seeking justice through the normal ays but will resort to taking the law into their own hands," he said.
Hundreds of civilians were killed in Zamboanga, Davao City, Cebu and other parts of the country the past years and authorities blamed these to vigilantes.

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