ANGELES CITY — Thousands of residents here have joined the ‘Walk for Life’ procession on Friday in opposition to the spate of drug-related killings and proposals to revive death penalty.
The peaceful procession emanated from three areas in the city – Angeles Electric Corporation, Sto. Cristo People’s Park and San Jose Chapel – where the participants converged. The groups proceeded in front of the Holy Rosary Parish Church.
The ‘Walk for Life’ seeks to emphasize the value of life.
“Matthew 5:44 – Love your enemies. Nagmeeting kami sa parokya, we were reflecting about what is happening. May nakapagsabi sa amin na iisa lang ang puedeng ipaglaban natin sa karahasan at yun ang pagmamahal,” according to Father Francis Dizon.
“Instead of spreading health and killing, with love we can do a lot of things, we can do miracles. Sana huwag tayo mawalan ng pagasa kahit doon sa mga pumapatay, sana huwag tayo mawalan ng pagasa ka kanila kahit sila puedeng magbago. Tulungan natin silang magbago.”
Two huge banners – one inscribed with the words “YES TO LIFE” and the second one with the words “NO TO KILLINGS” – were unfurled just below the belfry of the Holy Rosary Parish Church.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has earlier called on Filipinos to participate in a grand procession dubbed as “Walk for Life” on February 18 in Manila.
The call to march came days after the CBCP condemned President Rodrigo Duterte’s “reign of terror” and the bloody war on drugs.
The CBCP noted the solution to the drug problem “does not lie in the killing of suspected drug users and pushers.”
“I am inviting you to come out on February 18, 2017, at the Quirino Grandstand from 4:30 in the morning until 7 in the morning. Let us walk for life,” CBCP President Archbishop Socrates Villegas said in a video message.
“Let us fill our streets not with blood, not with dead bodies, but with prayer, with courage, to walk, to stand up for life,” Villegas said.
“Our streets must be safe. Our streets should be secure,” Villegas said. “My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, is it God’s will that blood be on our streets? Is it God’s will that dead bodies of our brothers and sisters be found on our sidewalks? Is it God’s will that mothers kill the infants in their wombs? It is not God’s will.”
At the Apo Church, the priest officiating the mass on Friday morning had invited mass goers to join the ‘Walk for Life’ schedule in the afternoon at the Holy Rosary Church. –Photos by JP Manalang