THE CASE OF GIVEN GRACE

I was in shock of the very sad story of a UPLB (University of the Philippines in Los Baños) student who was raped and killed and whose body was found dumped close to the university. Given Grace, her name, who is a Pastor's Kid (PK), is a 19 year-old,  3rd year, computer science major in UP, was about to return to her dormitory when the horrible incident happened.

I read of a story @ inquirer.net about this and it broke my heart to realize how schools back home are not as safe as they were before. (link here: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/76385/suspects-in-uplb-rape-slay-case-to-be-charged-friday)

What struck me even more were the comments of anger and of fear among their readers:

Kevin said: "The final conclusion is this,you are not safe wherever you are in the Philippiness...."

dosndonts70 said: "The richs has the luxury of armed escorts but the average and the poor can only rely on justice. The act of savage brutality cold blooded murders are defintely on the rise of late. What make the streets in Sinapore and Malaysia safe is,they imposed punishment of death penalty to such cold blooded murder offenders. It is time to reinstate back death penalty and if not, many more innocent lives will be lost.Justice of the highest form penalty must be served in return , and none other than death penalty."

Ted Peñaflor expressed: "With the kinds of guards we have today no wonder our citizens, especially the women, are no longer 'secured'. One of the suspects even boasted that the poor, defenseless girl was the 'seventh of his murdered victims.' My family and I feel the anguish that the victim's family is going through. Crimes, especially against hapless women, rise because our people do not feel violated anymore until some kind of tragedy fell upon one of their own. Sadly, we don't have the Death Penalty to seek comfort to, though the crimes committed by these rogues deserve death no less. If our law-abiding citizens feel helpless, why not apply an 'eye for an eye' brand of justice, after all these criminals already forfeited their right to live by the crimes they committed. How I wish Vice-Mayor Rodrigo Duterte is around to help our citizens put 'closure' to this gruesome incident."

I do feel for the victim and the family. I pray that God will grant them the strength to face this moment in their lives. I pray that the government will act in response to security issues in schools and universities back home. I hope that justice be served, and mercy and grace overflow.