Father, forgive the trapos for they know what they are doing

For Lent, we should reflect on the Seven Last Words of Jesus. In Luke, Chapter 23, Verse 34, while being crucified, asked God; "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do." This writer has been chosen to give the fifth of the seven last words in the centuries-old San Agustin Church this Good Friday.

- Athy Josephus B. Jimenez

This column is addressed to all politicians who should ask forgiveness for their travesties. They fool the people, make outlandish promises, and make claims of accomplishments done by career personnel in government. They bloat figures and create fake news to portray themselves as high-performing officials. Many congressmen claim authorship of laws when they merely hurriedly affixed their signatures in laws created by others.

This is dedicated to politicians who use public funds of 4P's, Tupad, Akap, AICS, and other public money to "buy" votes, and election officials who favor moneyed and influential candidates and who decide election cases with partiality.

We can understand why Jesus asked for God's forgiveness. What we cannot comprehend are: who are the "them" he was referring to, and why did he say that these erring people didn’t know what they were doing.

To my mind, the "them" are the following: men like Caiaphas, Annas, Pilate, and other powerful men, who represent the ruling class today, who are governing nations as if they have divine rights, and who exercise authority with limitless abuses and total lack of basic respect for the fundamental rights of their people.