MANILA, Philippines – The president of Ateneo De Manila University (ADMU) has voiced his opposition to reinstating the death penalty and lowering the age of criminal liability.
In a statement on Friday, ADMU president Jose Ramon Villarin urged the university community to lobby against the two priority measures of the Duterte administration as he condemned the spate of killings across the country in recent weeks.
“We call upon members of the Ateneo community to… promote reverence for life, respect for human rights, and restorative justice; (and) espouse best practices in crime prevention and control,” he said.
Saying real change could only happen if the sanctity and value of life is respected, Villarin mourned the death of Ateneo alumnus and teacher Emmanuel Jose “Em-J” Pavia, who was shot dead while walking home in Marikina on July 18.
Villarin stressed the importance of respecting the sanctity of life even as he recognized the “primal feelings of frustration, anger and fear unleashed by the violence that continues to stalk our people.”
He said they recognize the efforts of government, the private sector and civil society “to rid our communities of this drug menace and to institute measures that protect persons and property from such violence.”
He also noted the need to develop and protect transparent modes of truth telling in mass and social media and in pronouncements of government and civil society. He said there is also a need to address the root causes of violence.
Villarin said he echoes the sentiments of other members in the civil society, particular that of the Lasallian brother who also condemned the spate of public killings.
In a pastoral letter, De La Salle Philippines president Jose Mari Jimenez earlier called on the Lasallian educational communities to engage civil authorities to ensure that respect for life and the rule of law are always upheld.
He said while the spate of killings is alarming, “what troubles me even more as an educator is the absence of a significant public outcry against the blatant contempt for the human life and the rule of law that these extrajudicial killings represent.”