Get out of jail free card

Like many other issues, this one begs attention. Ignoring it would be a crime against cleverness, pretending a clown isn’t in the room.

Father Flavie Villanueva asked Manila Mayor Isko Moreno to free two suspects arrested for a robbery incident on 6 April along Road 10, or Mel Lopez Boulevard, a major north-south coastal highway in Tondo, Manila. His reason? They were victims of hunger, of poverty, of the previous administration, and had families waiting.

A viral video showed the suspects robbing a woman motorcycle rider at knifepoint in the middle of traffic, threatening her and taking her belongings.

Father Flavie’s act undoubtedly tugged at the heart. In a country where a single missed meal can push someone over the edge, compassion is not weakness. But I have to stop and say: “Father, with all due respect, you’re dangerously wrong on this one because hunger may explain desperation, but it does not erase accountability.”

We all know government and other policies have left people gutted. Job losses, failed promises, energy crisis — real suffering happened here. But using this as a blanket pardon for violent crimes is a one-way ticket to chaos.

What could be next? A hungry man stabs someone for their phone, and we hear someone say, “Release him, he is a victim of inflation.” A starving gang loots a sari-sari store: “Let them go, government officials ruined the economy.”

Once we unhook consequences from causes, anyone with a sad story gets a pass.

A holdup isn’t shoplifting a loaf of bread. Road 10 isn’t a quiet thoroughfare — it’s a busy roadway. People get scared. People get hurt. The victims of holdups might also be poor. They might also have families waiting, and their trauma doesn’t disappear just because the suspects had a rougher backstory.

Fr. Flavie is a religious figure, not a defense lawyer. His job is to show mercy and give moral clarity. True compassion doesn’t mean opening jail cells, but asking: why are so many Filipinos so hungry that robbery feels like an option? That’s the real sermon we need.

Does he even know that one of the suspects, 26, had already packed a lifetime of trouble into a decade — carnapping as a teen, illegal gambling twice in his early twenties, a robbery at 25, and now fresh charges — earning him the title “notorious” from the Manila police before he’s even been convicted for this latest heist.

Calling for the release of the two alleged perpetrators — before trial, before knowing all the facts — undermines the very justice that protects the vulnerable. The poor need safe streets too. The victim, riding her way to Moriones in Tondo, doesn’t want to hear that the men who grabbed her bag were “just a victim of the past.”

Mayor Isko Moreno has shown he can be tough on crime and compassionate on the root causes. He’s done rehab programs, food aid, and the like. So, instead of demanding their release, seek a fair investigation. If the suspects are truly first-time, desperate offenders, push for restorative justice — community service, skills training, supervised release. But skipping straight to “let them go,” because of hunger? That’s not mercy, but negligence.

What if a holdup happens tomorrow and the victim is Fr. Flavie’s parishioner or family member, would he still say, “Release them, they were hungry?” I doubt it.

We can’t fight poverty by pretending there are no consequences for committing a crime. The two suspects may indeed be victims of a broken system. But they also became perpetrators. Those two truths can coexist. What we must have is a system that addresses the need — more aid, better jobs, mental health support — while still holding people responsible for their choices.

So Father, by all means, advocate for the poor. Demand that the government feed the hungry. But don’t ask the mayor to open the gates to armed robbery. That doesn’t fix poverty. It just makes everyone else a little less safe.

And the families waiting for those suspects? They deserve help, not a free pass on crime. Let’s give them the former, and leave the latter where it belongs — in a fair court of law.