THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT  of the Ten Commandments is “Thou Shalt Not Kill”.The “Huwag Kang Magnakaw Movement” – we were informed- has branched into this new advocacy as its relevance resonates with the facts of contemporary history.

This was revealed by Rev Fr Nonong Fajardo, C.M .( Minister, Public Affairs Ministry of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila).

Death is not just the absence of human life. One can deal death as well to the Unborn Child, Freedom and the Environment. All these four killings are against the commandment of God because God is the Creator of life (Adult and the unborn), Nature ( environment) and freedom is a God-given birthright.

ENVIRONMENT    Violating the environment leads to the retaliatory wrath of nature: storms, heat waves, flash floods and earthquakes.  They can kill men by the thousands. Therefore , those who violate nature is the cause of these men’s deaths .

It can also lead to the extinction of thousands of flora and fauna ( animals and plants) that give sustenance to man through food and medicine.

There are science-based reports that in the 20th Century , the Philippines’ forest cover dwindled from 70% to 20%, losing 9.8 million hectares of forestland just during the years between 1934 to 1994.

Dirt emissions from vehicles, industrial wastes and illegal mining pollute the environment which is the “silent killer” of Filipinos through respiratory diseases.

Illegal logging has destroyed watersheds and threaten potable water  source such that by 2025 – water in major cities will be “marginal”. Such will also be the condition of 8 of the 19 major river basins in the country. Forty percent of underground water is now polluted -no thanks to impure waste water treatment or its complete absence.

Pollution  raises  the earth’s temperature resulting in weather aberrations like super typhoons, heat waves and earthquakes. Overfishing and chemical fishing , on the one  hand , has depleted the fish output of the oceans and destroyed coral reefs. Mangroves are regularly destroyed in the name of progress.

Man has no right to destroy what God granted us as gifts of nature – and  also deprives the next generation of a universal blessing.

ABORTION.  Records in 2012 showed 600,000 abortions  were done in the country  leading to 100,000 hospitalizations. This is the reason  why 3 women die daily due to abortion complications. In this country , half  of the pregnancies are unwanted. And since abortion is criminalized, people resort to clandestine often unhealthy means leading to deaths to the mothers  as well.

Abortion denies God’s creation (unborn children) from having a future and the chance to be useful to God’s mission on earth. Only God has the right to take away what He has created.

FREEDOM..  The freedom of choice was given by God at child birth because the “free will” is important for man to choose between good and evil.  Without total freedom- we impede the full development of man into a human being with reason and with justified goals for Liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

The slow progress of the celebrated Ampatuan Massacre displays in a dramatic way how little democratic freedom we have in this nation. In our justice system- delay is more the rule than the exception. Justice is compartmentalized- one for the rich and one for the poor. Are we truly free?

There are institutionalized realities in the country that prove Filipinos do not really have true democratic freedom.  The agonizing path tread of the “Freedom of Information Bill” , for instance,  characterizes the unsavory  effort of some to deprive the nation of the “freedom to know”.

HUMAN LIFE.  From the Marcos to the present Duterte regimes, there have been Extra Judicial killings and disappearances (without exception).  God, the Author of Life is not pleased.

Today, there is a tsunami of killings obtaining in the country (justified and unjustified)  and the extended war versus crime  for another six months will make the number of deaths grow.

Today – there  seems to be little respect for life and sanctity of the human being – shattered by a culture of violence that seems to envelope the nation. Is this the best way to go? What if the cycle of death knocks at your own family’s doorstep? Are we ready for that?

“Huwag Kang Pumatay” woefully regrets that in the wave of killings now- majority of those killed and doing the killing belong to the poor sector. The victims unable to defend themselves and too weak to demand justice. The perpetrators themselves are under duress – forced to carry out mandates ordered from superiors and rich patrons.

“Thou Shalt Not Kill”   , therefore ,  is an advocacy that demands all of our full attention,  devout reflection and firm action under the prism of our religion and democracy. Are we ready to meditate on these thoughts? SHALOM.

For comments: email to dejarescobingo@yahoo.com or bohol-rd@mozcom.com