Editorial

Foolish suggestion

THE chairman of the Commission on Human Rights has asked the Supreme Court to include squatters in the list of appellants who may seek a writ of amparo, a form of judicial protection aimed at stopping summary executions and disappearances.

In the same resolution, the chairman of the rights commission also recommends that the Metro Manila Development Authority stop the eviction of squatters in Metro Manila.

The kindest thing we can say about the request from Chairman Leila de Lima is that it is misguided altruism at work. A less charitable interpretation might see this as a case of a government bureaucrat who, for the lack of good sense and anything better to do, filing a foolish suggestion that wastes the time of the highest court in the land.

The folly of the chairman?s suggestion is apparent.

First, she associates the legitimate exercise of state power to enforce the law with the most blatant human rights violation imaginable, the arbitrary taking of a life without official sanction.

This has the unfortunate effect of over-dramatizing the plight of squatters on one hand and trivializing the fate of the real victims of summary executions on the other.

Second, this is not simply a matter of the rich and powerful versus the poor and helpless. By her action, Chairman de Lima tramples on the rights of one law-abiding group, property owners, in favor of another group that regularly flouts the law, squatters. It is, after all, illegal to take what is not yours?including land; that is the basis of any free market economy. Neither dire need nor poverty excuses the crime.

Current laws already put too many obstacles in the way of enforcing legitimate property rights. At least one major government project, a railway expansion, was held up for years simply because nobody could move the squatters living along the tracks. We do not need Chairman de Lima?s form of judicial activism to further stall our progress as a nation.

The problem with squatters is that it is easy in a misguided way to feel sorry for them?until they take up residence next door to you and their numbers multiply. Then the stench and squeals emanating from the illegal backyard piggery quickly remind you why it is wrong to protect and coddle them in the first place.

Drugged
Going over the reported facts of the case of the so-called ?Alabang Boys,? one can?t help but wonder if perhaps what we really need right now is a Lim Seng-style execution. But maybe, instead of just a convicted drug dealer, a crooked cop, prosecutor or government official with ties to the drug trade should also be made to face a firing squad.

Running out of time
The Health Department and the National Police are crowing over the fact that there were 117 fewer persons injured by firecrackers and stray bullets last New Year?s mayhem compared to the previous year?s.

Threat of power shortage
A newspaper report quoted the National Power Corp. as confirming that the country faces a power shortage, and that the problem had reached a critical point in the Visayas, particularly in the province of Cebu. Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes says the looming power lack should be addressed head-on as early as possible by putting up new power plants.

Ask Cory
Going by the e-mail I have received over the long Christmas/New Year holiday, it would seem that the debate on whether or not former President Cory Aquino was serious with her apologies to former President Joseph ?Erap? Estrada for her role in his ouster is still a very live issue.

Save Baguio City
Baguio City is celebrating its centennial this year.
It should be an opportune time to focus on the attractions, potentials, and the many problems of the supposed Summer Capital of the Philippines, a city which I am sure holds a special spot in the hearts of many Filipinos.