People or Kangaroo courts? They're the same!

In tonight's Straight from the Sky, we bring our televiewers inside Operation Second Chance, the prison facility for juvenile offenders operated by the Task Force Street Children led by Mrs. Margot Osmeña and the people behind this facility, jail warden C/Insp. Neil R. Avisado and Operation Second Chance executive director Annabelle Cuizon. When CNN came up with that embarrassing report about children below 18 years old languishing in a Manila jail, I remembered Mrs. Margot Osmeña was already operating her facility up in Kalunasan. So she agreed to do this show right inside this facility so Cebuanos will know that we are doing something about this problem in a very positive way.

The last time I was in this facility was during its formal and official blessing and I must confess that I was taken aback when I got there that this facility for juvenile prisoners was very well maintained and clean. Actually it looked more like a retreat house than a prison. Seeing this facility gives us hope that not all prisons run by the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology are as hopeless as the rotten BBRC.

So watch this show tonight so you'd see for yourself what Mrs. Margot Osmeña has done to help children who have run afoul with the law through Operation Second Chance. See them on SkyCable's Channel 15 at 8:00 p.m.

* * *

Today has been declared the National Day of Conversion, Reparation and Consecration as announced in a pastoral letter by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines. I am a firm believer in the power of prayer... so for whatever it is worth, we will pray today that our fellow Christians would embrace the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ to love one another and be tolerant of others.

Forgive me for my pessimism, but the biggest problem we face today is that the oppositionists, many of who are big losers in the last presidential elections cannot veer away from too much politics, too much lust for power and greed. Worse of all, these people refuse to heed the call of the majority which is basic in a democracy.

* * *

Last Saturday's headline in the Philippine STAR blared, "Opposition won't elevate impeachment case to SC" because they know too well that the Supreme Court would never interfere with the work of the legislative branch of the government and thus, it would never make any decisions on the decision of Congress not to impeach Pres. Gloria Arroyo. That means going to the SC would mean another embarrassing loss. So what can we expect that the sore losers of the opposition to do? Well, we heard from Rep. Allan Peter Cayetano that they would set up a "People's Court" and try and impeach Pres. Arroyo.

Of course the first question that comes to mind is; by what authority of the government or law allows anyone to establish a "People's Court"? Of course, they have no laws to stand on... they only want to destroy what little is left of our democratic process. In fact, by creating a "People's Court" the opposition has walked right in the alley of the Communists Party of the Philippines who have tried and convicted and killed many Filipinos using this method... a "People's Court". They might as well call it a Kangaroo Court for there really is no different between the two!

I was with Rep. Tony Cuenco (Cebu City South District) and provincial board member Agnes Magpale yesterday noon at the inauguration of the annex building of Ching Palace and I asked them what they thought of this People's Court... Tony replied, "A court hears its evidence before it makes any decision. The people behind the creation of this People's Court have already convicted Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo because they refuse to submit to the rule of the majority and lost in the Plenary session. What they are doing is merely creating a lynch mob!" Mrs. Magpale felt that Tita Cory was in the wrong company and that seems to be everyone's observations these days.

So for much of the week, we can expect more doom and gloom scenarios coming from the opposition. If any, there is some light at the end of the tunnel for the Philippines, which was the main story in the Philippine STAR yesterday.... that the Speakers of the Parliaments had endorsed a debt-for-equity conversion program that would free us from our trillion dollar debt, a program supported by the United Nations. The only problem there is, the oppositionists vow to make fun of Pres. Arroyo in that UN forum... giving further credence to the reality that indeed, democracy in the Philippines is not working very well. Minority groups refuse to heed the decision of the majority and that is unhealthy in Asia's longest running democracy.

* * *

For e-mail responses to this article, write to [email protected]. Bobit Avila's columns can also be accessed through www.thefreeman.com