From Pattaya, GMA intoned a most disturbing Easter message: “Risk all for Truth!” What callousness. What audacious hypocrisy. Easter is supposed to be about redemption and hope. But with such an official statement, the hopelessness of many only waxes further. At the very least, beyond merely pontificating about truth, she should move the pertinent agencies to do better police, legal and forensic work on all the kidnappings and killings that remain unsolved in our country. Tragically, with killings on the rise, government seems overly anxious to let murderers and rapists get lighter sentences or commutations of their prison terms. Is this Government being more Christian than the Christ? It’s very tempting to simply say that, in this country, the science of forensics is purposely left underdeveloped so that the killers (many of them probably in government) maintain their impunity. And if found guilty anyway, you can get out earlier by some pious power. No wonder many are drowning in hopelessness.

Consider these: Ninoy Aquino. Lean Alejandro. Dacer. Corbito. What do these names have in common? Mystery. For who really killed them and why? Even in the case of Ninoy, the question remains for the mastermind has yet to be identified. And yes, we also want to raise the ghosts of the Dacer-Corbito case. But where is the solid forensic evidence behind these two killings? To compound matters, how can we fully trust government on this when those involved might have been government agents themselves… or are now “enemies” of the government for they purportedly support certain political interests anti-thetical to the current regime? Why are the Dacer-Corbito twin murders being revived this time around? Eleksiyon na naman? We hope government can put as much effort on other killings and disappearances especially the political ones where the military and police are being implicated. This country needs two S’s–science and sincerity. More science in its system of governance. More sincerity from its political leaders. May we remind GMA, you have been called many times to risk all for truth. What have you and your minions in Congress done? So as you say that we must risk all for truth, we cannot help but ask, whose Truth? For whom? Puro patayan dito, habang nasa Patayya ka.

Louie Checa Montemar, Singalong, Manila, via e-mail