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THE MESSAGE. BRINGING INTO FOCUS FILIPINO PRESENCE IN AUSTRALIA
www.kalatas.com.au | Volume 7 Number 1 | OCTOBER 2016
NEWS
IN THE NEWS... PHILIPPINES
COUNCILLOR LINDA SANTOS
Ready to make
a difference
By Titus Filio
Case of Aussie paedophile
Sparks death
penalty debate
The case of Australian paedophile Peter
Scully, on trial in the Philippines for numerous
crimes sparked a death penalty debate in the
Philippines. Australian media quarters gave
differing views on the issue.
Mr. Scully is facing charges including child molestation, the murder
of an 11-year-old Filipina girl, and the torture and sexual abuse of at
least eight girls, including an 18-month-old infant.
His case was cited as ‘horrific’ by international workers on child
abuse and crime. He appeared in court last month in Cagayan de Oro –
his trial much followed here in Australia.
Prosecutors in the Philippines have told media that they are seeking
the reinstitution of the death penalty for Mr. Scully because they find no
other punishment enough for the accused.
The case file alleged that Scully directed a video involving torture
and horrific injuries to an 18-month-old baby and participated in many
debased acts against children. Prosecutors said he was for several years
the mastermind of a worldwide syndicate selling extreme videos of
child sex and torture.
Scully’s case drew mixed and strong reactions from Australian
media.
Garry Linnell, writing for the Sydney Morning Herald, believes a
death sentence is right for Scully.
“We should have no qualms about executing people like Peter
Scully if found guilty because they have forfeited what it is to be human.
Once you stop treating him as a fellow being, the rest comes naturally,”
he wrote.
“Most of us would like him to die as slowly and as horribly as
his victims did. The last thing he realises in his miserable life? The
knowledge that he failed that most basic of entry tests – a place among
our species.”
Writing for The Guardian, journalist Brigid Delaney offers a different
view:
“Reading an account of the crimes he is accused of (he is pleading
not guilty), it would be hard not to lapse into fantasies of revenge if he’s
found guilty – to want him to be made to suffer horribly and even more;
that he be eradicated, dissolved, removed from the world. Murder is
murder.
“Child abuse is stealing someone’s life from them. What other
punishment could be fitting? And yet ...Nietzsche’s warning that “he
who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a
monster” is true here,” she wrote.
“Bringing back a flawed system to kill a rotten individual means that
we dispense with the individual but are stuck with the system.”
The debate on death penalty has been resurrected in the Philippine
legislature with several senators giving opinions on whether there
is basis to reintroduce capital punishment. The Philippine president
has been vocal on his favourable stance on the death penalty (there
is already a tolerance on extra-judicial killings and police execution of
criminals).
The lawyer and
former university
lecturer wants to
make a difference in
Blacktown City.
Lawyer Linda Geronimo Santos from the
Liberal Party has been elected to represent Ward
4 in the city council and she believes she faces a
great responsibility ahead. She is keen to work
on advocacies that deal directly with families
and the community’s well-being.
“I have been a regular, strong supporter of
community organisations in Blacktown. I have
learned first hand issues of my clients ranging
from small criminal matters, domestic violence,
immigration, injury-related problems, family
law, financial difficulties, industrial relations
and compensation matters,” she told AK.
“I feel that it is a privilege to be a legal
practitioner in the Australian setting. I am
able to assist clients and community members
Linda Geronimo Santos (second from right) with supporters. Photo: Facebook
through my professional expertise and
experience, to allay their fears and help solve
their various concerns.”
“This will attract investors, local or foreign, to further
She described the last election as a “hard fought battle.”
investments in the city. Parramatta is a good model to
“It was a great privilege to win the seat, through the
follow, and with hard work and support of the State and
help of a large number of supporters, some of whom had
Federal governments, Blacktown will be an attractive city
come from unexpected quarters.”
to the Blacktowners and to the out-of-town investors and
And now that the job has come, she expects tougher
tourists.”
days ahead especially that she comes from the minority
Apart from a law degree, the woman councillor holds a
party in the council (there are currently five Liberals and
masters in educational administration and a master of arts
ten Labor members in the council).
in literature. She is BA magna cum laude and is a member
“We are in an unenviable task of being a minority
of the Law Society of NSW.
party. But this does not deter me from voicing my views,
She has been a practicing lawyer in the last 28 years
and I am determined to contribute to proposals for the
and also served at the academe. She taught in college in the
improvement of lifestyle in the general Blacktown
Philippines before coming to Australia. She was once a partcommunity, particularly in my ward, Ward 4,” she said.
time lecturer of law at the Ballarat University and a vocational
“I like to see a less dysfunctional partisanship.
educator in colleges in Blacktown. She is also a columnist
Presently there is a “them” and “us” mentality between
(‘Legal Notes’) for the Philippine Community Herald.
the major parties. I believe we were all elected at Council
Married to Fiel Santos, they have three adult children
to work together for a common cause – the welfare and
and two grandchildren.
improvement of Blacktown and its d