The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception
Catholics who fail to study their faith often fall into confusion that the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception was because the Blessed Virgin Mary bore into the world our Lord Jesus Christ who was without sin. Today's Solemnity (notice that the word used is "Solemnity" rather than a mere "Feast") of the Immaculate Conception celebrates the conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary inside the womb of her mother Saint Anne because Mary "was conceived without original sin" and this has become our prayer.
God had to prepare the coming of the Blessed Virgin Mary by creating her free from original sin, otherwise if he did not make her sinless, and she accepted the message of Angel Gabriel, when the child Jesus entered her womb, she would have died instantly. But God knew the heart of the coming Theotokos or Mother of God and thus, today we celebrate the woman who was conceived without original sin. So today is a holiday of obligation and church schedules are like on Sunday mass schedules. Ave Maria!
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As I expected, the National Bureau of Investigation announced that Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa was executed by members of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Eastern Visayas who went to his jail cell supposedly to search for guns and drugs and then told the nation their collective lie that Espinosa fired his gun and so they had to kill him. This was one extrajudicial killing where policemen brazenly committed murder of a person linked to drugs.
"It was a rubout," NBI spokesman Ferdinand Lavin told reporters. "There was criminal intent and a conspiracy. It was a premeditated killing; the victims were helpless." The NBI has filed murder charges against the CIDG team that served the search warrant on the mayor, who was then detained at the sub-provincial jail in Baybay City, Leyte. NBI assistant director for Eastern Visayas Rugy de Vera said based on statements of inmates at the jail's Cell 2, they heard Espinosa greeting the police team from his cell, Cell 1, then pleading for his life and asking not to plant anything against him at around 3 a.m. on November 5, 2016.
When we heard about this incident, my first thoughts was exactly what NBI spokesman Lavin said, "It was a rubout." At the Senate hearing on Espinosa's killing, Chief Inspector Leo Laraga admitted that he fired shots at Espinosa. In short, the team from CIDG-8 sent to Mayor Espinosa's cell was an assassination team. The search warrant was simply a ploy for the team to enter the cell of Espinosa. So who ordered the hit?
This is what I like with the NBI because they based their report on the inmates' testimonies. Among the testimonies was that a policeman wearing surgical gloves, and holding an unidentified caliber of weapon, was seen entering the detention facility after the gunshots, and no longer held any gun when he came out. Jerry Abiera, NBI director in Eastern Visayas, maintained that the NBI's investigation found that only the policemen fired shots inside Espinosa's cell. Based on the sketch of Espinosa's detention cell, gunshots came from the entrance of the cell. This is why we still have faith with the NBI, while our confidence level on the PNP has dwindled because of this case.
The findings prompted the NBI to file multiple murder charges against Superintendent Marvin Marcos, the relieved head of CIDG in Eastern Visayas, and his 17 subordinates. At this point, we ask no less than President Rodrigo "Digong" Duterte to authorize a major revamp of the PNP and to exclude anyone remotely linked with drug cases on their own. The war against illegal drugs cannot go on unless and until the cops who have links with drug lords as their protectors are removed from the ranks of the PNP. I dare say that it is time to reboot the officers' ranks, shape them up, and start anew!
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Many political prisoners the government authorities captured through the years, after a lengthy court case landed in long jail terms, now want to be out and pardoned by the president as part of the peace deal with the Philippine government. Then Luis Jalandoni gave a proposal to include the Marcos burial as part of the peace deal. So should we say that the peace process is in danger of stagnation even before the peace talks start come January in Rome?
This prompted President Duterte to instruct the government peace panel chairman Silvestre Bello III to secure a ceasefire deal with the National Democratic Front before he orders the release of detained communist rebels. Duterte said, "Produce to me a signed bilateral ceasefire agreement and I will release them within 48 hours. You can take my word for it." So the ball is literally in the court of the NDF or CPP if it really wants their members to be scot-free.
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